Catalyst
by Mij
Summary: Sandstorm has died in the battle against BloodClan, and Firestar is slowly falling insane. StarClan cannot see the future, forbidden romance burns, ghostly cats stalk the dark forests, and the Catalyst will soon destory the world and bring about Change...
1. Prologue: After the Battle

**Title: Catalyst**

**Author: Mij**

**Genre: Dark/Romance/Mystery**

**Summary:** **[Post Darkest Hour] Sandstorm has died in the battle against BloodClan, along with many more cats from all four Clans. Firestar is wracked by grief, but he can't relax just yet. Change is coming, and StarClan is burning with it. A ghostly cat haunt Firestars while apprentices witness unspeakable horrors and others are torn apart inside and out by love and grief. Change is coming, but whether it is for better or for worse, no one knows.**

**Author Note: This prologue begins shortly after the defeat of BloodClan. Instead of Whitestorm dying by Bone, sandstorm has died instead, and the death toll is far, far higher. Dark and graphic, disgression is advised.**

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><p>Pain. The most unimaginable pain was now physical, throbbing in his body and rattling his head. Firestar's legs trembled as he walked to the Great Rock. His body was more battered and bruised that it had ever been in his entire life, scrapes and cuts and bites flecked his pelt like a twisted kind of bloody snow. One gash, longer than the rest, rippled almost artistically across one of his flanks, clotted and catching dust with every puff of cold wind. The battle had drained the fire from his blood but in his chest the fire of hate and battle still raged, keeping him warm, keeping his legs from going out and his heart from stopping and his lungs from working. That hot, cold rage of battleblood was all that kept him alive.<p>

Another breeze and another coat of dust on his wounds and the scent of blood and bodies wafted up to his nose. It was strange, Firestar hardly even minded the scent of death now, it was relaxing, knowing that this many of his foes were dead. Cats who had wanted him dead now gone themselves. Some killed by his own claws, others by the ones that had followed him. But the battle had not been without its losses. He stepped over the slim body of a female WindClan warrior he had seen once before, a gray tabby she-cat named Runningbrook, whose body was now still and only warmed by its' decomposition. A RiverClan cat with thick, strong muscles lay beside her, so close and bloody that they were hard to tell apart and seemed to be part of one mutant cat with two heads. Firestar hardly noticed the flies swarming around him, or even their vacant expressions as they looked up to him with wide, stone-dead eyes. Dust would soon cloud those eyes forever. The dead didn't see any more.

Between the bodies and flies and dust flickered the slow-moving bodies of other cats, just as injured as he. Some would walk a few paces and sit, exhausted, and others would waver and collapse, sometimes to rise again and other times to lay and die. Firestar didn't watch them. And he didn't care for them either. His green eyes were clotted with blood and he could hardly see his nose in front of his face. His nose was clotted with blood as well. He had to breathe through his mouth, but that was hard too, because his jaw and neck were swollen from where a cat tried to smother him to death. He was, in effect, senseless. His eyes and nose useless, body too racked with pain to feel the breeze on it, ears still roaring from the battle, tongue coated in blood and dust. It was a strange experience.

And somehow oddly relaxing.

He didn't know how long it took for him to get to Cinderpelt and lay down, nor did he know how long it took for her to clean his eyes and nose and mouth and begin to treat his wounds. He wanted to protest, to tell her that the other warriors would need to be treated first, that he could always die and come back to life again, but he was too weak, too tired, and so gave in to the rhythmic licking of her rough tongue on his eyes and nose, and the warm sting of herbs as they were pressed into his wounds. And then he slept. Again, he didn't know for how long. But he did remember how long it took for Graystripe to drag his mate's body to him.

She was so bloody and ragged that he thought she must be no more than a pelt, but when Graystripe dropped her in front of him he saw the leaf-green eyes and the sweet, gentle face that he loved so much and felt his heart drop in his chest.

"Sandstorm." It was the first word that he had managed to say.

"I found her by one of the oak trees. She had killed Bone but she… I couldn't reach her in time."

Firestar stared at Sandstorm for a long time. Her mouth was open and her tongue lolling out of her mouth. Part of it was missing. Her ears, her beautiful ears, were mangled as if someone had chewed on them, and her eyes, those sweet, leaf-green eyes so similar to his own… were not so similar any longer. Only one was still intact. The other was missing. Firestar looked back up to Graystripe, his battered, exhausted friend. They had trained together, fought together, fallen in love together… And now both of them were alone. Alone and alive. The Leader inside of Firestar tried to speak now, instead of the shell that remained. He croaked again to Graystripe:

"Who else?"

"Longtail, Mousefur, and Goldenflower," Graystripe said quietly, "Thornpaw and Ashpaw are missing. Brackenfur's leg is broken and Brightheart is… Brightheart may not live much longer. The other clans lost just about the same as us."

Firestar-the-Leader nodded, but Firestar-the-Cat hardly heard him. His mind was still fixed on Sandstorm, his beautiful mate. The love of his life. How could she-

"…Firestar? Firestar, what should we do?"

Firestar looked back up to Graystripe, "Bury the dead here at Fourtrees. We can't move them all back to ThunderClan. Everyone who's able needs to bury. Bury all of them, from all the Clans. They can't be expected to be in any better shape than us. Where is Whitestorm?"

"Whitestorm is with Willowpelt, he's sending her back to camp to take care of their kits."

"Tell him to organize the burials. I'm going to rest a bit longer."

"Of course, Firestar."

Graystripe bent to pick up Sandstorm again and Firestar shook his head, "No, Graystripe, I will bury Sandstorm. And I will sit a silent vigil for her tonight."

Graystripe paused and then nodded, "Very well, Firestar."

Cinderpelt visited him again and brought him herbs that would strengthen him for his vigil and when he was starting to feel their restless effects he dragged himself to his feet again, picked up Sandstorm, and dragged her out into the battlefield. Cats were already burying the bodies of loved ones left and right and another group of cats were dragging the bodies of BloodClan warriors off to the side of the Thunderpath where they would decompose and be forgotten. Firestar pulled Sandstorm to the base of the oak tree she had died at and began to dig. He thought that the pain from battle was terrible, and the pain of knowing the Sandstorm was dead was greater, but for the rest of his life he would not know a pain more great than digging Sandstorm's grave in the hard-packed soil, tearing his claws on rocks and snagging them on roots. Blood and soil mixed until Firestar was sure that his paws were just stubs on the end of his legs, but the digging was still not done. Firestar felt his shoulders start to tremble. He was on the verge of collapse when a warm muzzle touched his shoulder and Firestar turned to see Graystripe standing next to him. With an unuttered message Firestar took a step back and Graystripe began to dig until the hole was big enough and they were able to drag Sandstorm's body into it and cover it. Then Firestar sat, not speaking and not looking at Graystripe, who saw his bloody paws and brought Cinderpelt to him. Cinderpelt cleaned his claws and treated them as she had the rest of his body and without a word left again, leaving Firestar to grieve.

It was late in the afternoon was Firestar had dragged himself half-dead to Cinderpelt, and early in the night when Graystripe had brought Sandstorm's body to him. And now, at midnight, he began his vigil beneath a slim, dark moon.

"Be careful," he had said before the battle, "BloodClan is dangerous. They don't drive off, they kill." He would never say it but he was worried about her then. As he had worried about her his entire life. But Sandstorm had just laughed and flexed her claws.

"Then we'll just have to do the same!" It was words like those that made him glad he fell in love with a warrior. But now the memory was only bitter. Being a warrior had made her strong.

_Being a warrior only got her killed._

"Is that so?"

Firestar looked up. A strange cat sat in front of him. She was a ghost. Or something made up by his mind he knew. He could see the texture of the tree through her smoke gray body. Her eyes were dim and green and surprisingly large, so large he could see the whites of the sclera around them. When the breeze shifted he caught an acrid smell of burnt fur and flesh.

"Would being a warrior only kill a cat, or would it show them the world as it truly is?" said the cat.

_I'm going insane_.

"Insanity in itself is hard to define. Rip off the mantle of the night and you will see below the pale, naked body of truth that every living thing in the world seeks. Is insanity the drive to find that seam, that weakness, in the darkness, or is it the force that compels you not to? Cast aside the light of day and you will see the burnt reek of what once was and what will be again…"

_Insane. Insane insane insane._

"…Slit a stream by its belly and find it wriggling with worms and maggots. Crack open the bones of the earth and find the undying rage that forces mountains to bow to its will and oceans to tremble and surge. Cast death aside and find life. Cast life aside and find death…"

_Shut up. Control yourself. Don't go insane. Insane. INSANE._

"…There is no rest for the weary, and no rest for the grieving. Hope and Fire lie in an everlocking battle to death, where they will battle until life is born again. Turn a Blind Eye to a shadow that passes by. Feed yourself on the bones of memories to nurse a Broken Heart. Scream, tear, drag the world down around you as you plummet as a Falling Bird. And watch as the world around you burns as if you are the Center Of It All."

_SHUT UP_.

Firestar looked up. The cat was gone. His mind was still. The hallucination was over. He would have to speak to Cinderpelt about what she had given him. Firestar raised his eyes further. What had seemed to be only a few moments seemed to be much, much longer. The sun was already peeking over the trees. His vigil was over.

Firestar stood and, though his body was stiff and uncomfortable, did not stretch. There would be many things to do today. Tally the dead, send out hunting patrols, send out elders and the three kits to search for herbs that Cinderpelt will need. Tomorrow they would remark the scents and establish their territory again. The day after that perhaps he will lead a patrol of his own. The time for grieving is over, he knew, that hallucination had shown him that. It was time to move on, time to put the past behind him. Perhaps he could find another mate, raise kits and forget-

Shadow caught something in the corner of his eyes and froze, then turned and began walking away as fast as he could. He did not see the pawprints in the ground above Sandstorm's grave, he told himself, and he did not smell burnt fur, or notice that there were no tracks leading too or away from the grave besides his own. It was impossible.

_Is it?_

A lilting voice on a wind, carried by sour, burnt fur:

"Perhaps not."


	2. Chapter One: The Four Flowers

**Forgot to put a disclaimer in the last chapter. My bad! I don't own anything. Zip. Nada. Nothing. If I did, the series from _Darkest Hour_ on would be completely different. Not so goddamn stupid.**

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><p><strong>Mally and Thalia:<strong>** Firestar's going to have an... interesting expirience in this story. That's about all I can say.**

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><p>It was sunset, Firestar's least favorite time of the day. He hated to watch the light die from the sky, watch the fire of the sun be swallowed by the earth. Sunset was a time of ending and a time of death. Firestar didn't like that at all. He nodded to Whitestorm, his deputy, who sat with Graystripe near the mouth of the camp and discussed hunting and patrols. In his mouth, Firestar carried four different colored flowers and, after nodding to Whitestorm and Graystripe, padded over to the Medicine Cat den and poked his head in.<p>

"Cinderpelt, are you in here?" His voice was muffled by the flowers.

Firestar dropped a small batch of flowers onto the ground of the Medicine Cat den. The den that had once belonged to Spottedleaf, and then to Yellowfang. Both cats very important to him. And now it belonged to Cinderpelt, his former apprentice and another very good friend. Cinderpelt poked her head out of the back of the den, her blue eyes bright.

"I'll be with you in a moment, Firestar." She turned back to whatever she was doing and a minute later Dovekit bounded out of the back, mewed a greeting to Firestar, and bounced out of the den. Cinderpelt followed shortly after, smiling slightly.

"She's full of energy and very quick to learn," she said, "And is especially good with herbs."

"An apprentice for you?" Firestar smiled.

"I wouldn't mention it unless I thought she was perfect for it." Cinderpelt laughed, "She and her siblings went out with Willowpelt this morning to look for herbs. She has an excellent eye for them. I'm surprised at how much they brought back. Even things I didn't describe to her she found for me."

"The sign of a Medicine Cat," Firestar chuckled. Whitestorm and Willowpelt had had a second litter together, surprising many of the cats who thought that Willowpelt was too old to have another litter. But the strong she-cat had pulled through with three healthy kits and did not have trouble caring for them. He remembered Speckletail's last kit, Snowkit, who had been both deaf and small and had been killed by a bird. He was half expecting these kits to be at least small and weak, but all three had survived and grown strong, and it was nearly time for their apprentice ceremony. He would have to decide on their mentors later.

"What did you bring me? Daisies?" Cinderpelt pawed at the flowers Firestar had brought her, "I don't think I can use daisies for anything, at least nothing I've been taught. And I've never seen daisies of these colors before. Where did you find them?"

Firestar looked down at the flowers. They were all the same shape and size, but each was a different color. One white, one black, one ash-gray, and the last blood-red. He pawed at them nervously.

"Actually, Cinderpelt, I didn't quite _find_ them." He looked up to her and Cinderpelt's mouth tightened, "_She _showed them to me."

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><p>Firestar froze.<p>

The forest was around him was still – no, it was silent. No wind to rustle the trees and leaves, no tittering of birds high and safe in the canopy. Scents seemed to have drained from the area, leaving only the stark, dry scent of dust. And the light scent of singed fur.

"Burntfur," he said quietly. He knew she was there. She always came to him at these times. When the forest was silent. When the scents were gone. When he was alone and contemplating the worst things in life. Alone hunting, alone patrolling, alone washing his ears, it didn't matter to her. He was always alone. And she always came. As if summoned, the smoky she-cat stepped from behind a tree, enormous green eyes dim and unblinking. Behind her, no _through_ her, he could see the patterns of a holly bush and the faint outline of a group of ferns. He had never touched her in the full four seasons she had been appearing to him, but it seemed as if he could just pass a paw through her and she would break apart. Somehow he knew that he was wrong.

He didn't even know if she should be called 'Burntfur,' it was something that he and Cinderpelt had started to call her subconsciously. But there was no mistaking that acrid smell of burned fur when she arrived, and she never seemed to dismiss it as her name, so it stuck, and when he called to her in times like these, she came.

As always, Burntfur said nothing after staring at Firestar for several long seconds. Instead she turned back where she had come from. Unhurriedly, Firestar followed her. Around the tree he had just enough time to see her smoky tail vanish behind a rock before the forest came to life again. Birds began to twitter above him, a fresh breeze rolled through the forest, scents flooded back to his nose. Scents of the forest, with only the slightest hint of burnt fur in them. Firestar rounded the rock he had seen Burntfur's tail vanish behind and stopped short. Just as before, she had led him to something.

And just as before, the sight was both beautiful and nerve-wracking.

A single plant bloomed in a small pool of sunlight beside the rock, four different flower buds waving at him as he came closer and sniffed them. They smelled no different than the average flower, if anything a little more strongly, but it was the color that astounded Firestar the most. Four different flowers of four different colors. One snow-white, one ash-gray, one night-black, and one blood-red. He pawed at the flowers to see if they were actually four different ones, but saw they connected high above the roots and entered the ground together. Firestar snorted, it was impossible! Who ever heard of a plant with four different colored flowers, and flowers this starkly different?

Firestar sniffed the air again but caught no more scent of Burntfur. He slowly bent his head and pulled at the flower, plucking it. He would need to show this to Cinderpelt. Just as he had shown her all of the others.

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><p>"Burntfur led me to the flowers," Firestar said quietly. Cinderpelt's eyes widened and she quickly dropped the poppy head she was working with. She padded closer to the flowers and sniffed them, then pawed at them. Firestar had accidentally bitten though the stems, but it was easy to see where the flowers had been connected to the main stalk. Cinderpelt sat back, eyes narrowed, and shook her head.<p>

"There's nothing I can say about this, Firestar. It's just like the others."

"I know. But I don't know what to do with it, or any of the other things she keeps showing me."

Burntfur was coming to Firestar almost once a moon now. The last time she had lead him to Snakerocks, where he discovered the largest snake he had ever seen. It was dead, and lodged in its mouth was an enormous white crystal. Four bulbous tumors had been growing on its head, and one had burst. When Firestar had gone back the next day, the snake and the rock had vanished. Another time she had lead him to the border with RiverClan, and during the sunset the water sparkled in four different colors. But the next day when he went back to see if the colors would come again, the river remained gray and white. As far as he knew, the phenomenon had never happened again.

"I don't know what to tell you, Firestar. I never know what to tell you anymore."

"I know, I know. But who else can I share this with?"

"Your deputy, for one, or your best friend." Cinderpelt sniffed.

"Neither receives signs from StarClan and you know it. You're a Medicine Cat; you're supposed to be able to know what to do for these kinds of things."

"And you're a Leader, so are you. If you're so concerned about Burntfur, why haven't you gone to the Moonstone all these moons?"

"You know we've been busy with the new apprentices and the newleaf was late this year and the skirmish with ShadowClan-"

Cinderpelt gave him a hard look.

"I'll go in a moon when the apprentices can come-"

Her eyes narrowed.

"I haven't had time-"

"That's a heap of foxdung, Firestar, and you know it. Why don't you want to speak with StarClan?"

Firestar shifted under her harsh blue eyes and then lowered his eyes.

"Because I don't think StarClan will know what to do about this." He said finally, "And if they had something to say about it, why haven't they sent a sign to me to come?"

"And four-colored flowers and ghost cats appearing to you aren't sign enough?"

"No, no, they are but… they aren't. I can't explain it, Cinderpelt. All I know if that Burntfur has nothing to do with StarClan. The things she's showing me… she's not involved with them in any way."

Cinderpelt sat back, still looking at Firestar hard, then sighed and turned away, "Very well. Put it off for another moon and bring the new apprentices. But I'm _not_ letting you back out of it. We're going, whether you like it or not."

Firestar lowered his head like a kit being scolded, "Of course, Cinderpelt, I won't back out on you."

"Good. Now get out of my den. I have a lot of organizing to do and _you_ need to decide on mentors for those kits tonight."

"Of course, Cinderpelt. Have a good evening."

"You too, Firestar. And sleep well."

When Firestar was back in his den it didn't take long for him to decide that Whitestorm would mentor his son, Snakekit, and Dustpelt would mentor the other female kit, Icekit. Dovekit would go to Cinderpelt, of course. He had considered giving Snakekit to Brambleclaw as his first apprentice but… Brambleclaw could wait. He could let him mentor one of Ferncloud's kits in a few moons. He was a young warrior, and Dustpelt didn't get his first apprentice until he was older than Brambleclaw. At least, Firestar thought so. He licked a claw thoughtfully and settled down for sleep.

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><p>Fire.<p>

Why was fire always in his dreams now? The blazing forest, the singed fur and whiskers, the smell of burnt dirt and trees and bodies…

He ran though the fire, the dream-fire, which seemed to be so real that he could feel it licking up and down his pelt, and the stinging sensation of being burned alive. The trees seemed to waver as he ran past them, like he was making ripples in the liquid of existence with every movement, with every thought. The ground heaved below him and cracked, sending a shower of spark up in front of him. He kept running, and leaped through them.

Smoke burned his lungs, he felt his paws crack and bleed and cauterize on the steaming ground. It shook again, and he leapt to the side as a jagged rock thrust up from the ground and collided with a tree in an explosion of wood and fire. Splinters caught in his pelt and burned him, but he kept running. Strangely, he wasn't afraid. And why should he be? He was the fire that would save the Clans, the heat of fire to defend his Clan and the light of it to guide his way. Fire was his to control, it couldn't kill him, it could only make him stronger.

"Firestar!"

Firestar skidded to a halt and turned. Had he just heard that?

"Firestar!"

Yes, again. Firestar turned and began charging into the fire again, towards the calling voice, that voice which was so familiar, which he hadn't heart in so, so long…

"_Firestar!_"

It was Sandstorm. Her pale ginger fur looked tan against the fire, and her fur was crusted in black, but there was no mistaking that voice, or those neat ears, or those beautiful, beautiful green eyes. She ran towards him and pressed her muzzle against his and he breathed in her sweet, sweet scent, mixed with the metallic tang of fire and the acrid sting of burnt fur… She pulled away, her eyes large and full of fear.

"You have to come to the Moonstone," she shouted over the roar of the fire, "Come to the Moonstone, now!"

The fire was beginning to close in on them now. A tree crashed to his left and Sandstorm winced. She turned and shied closer to him.

"You have to come," she said, "Come now. Come right now!"

And then Sandstorm ran, running through the fire. Firestar tried to call after her, but his lungs weren't working properly. He stumbled and fell, choking, foaming at the mouth and rolling across the floor of a forest on fire… Why was Sandstorm leaving him? Where was she going? Sandstorm? Sandstorm?

"Sandstorm!"

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><p>Firestar woke cold and wet. The moon was full outside and sent faint light into his den. He rose shakily and exited his den. He felt oddly light, like each one of his veins and arteries were made of air and filled with clouds rather than blood. He crossed the camp and into the Medicine Cat den, and was surprised to hear two quiet voices inside.<p>

"I'm sorry again about waking you so late," said Whitestorm, pawing at a poppy head to loosen some seeds, "I've been having trouble sleeping lately though. I'm stiffer than I'm used to be."

"Don't take those," Firestar said when he poked his head into Medicine Cat den, "Cinderpelt and I are leaving, and you're in charge of the camp."

"Excuse me?" Cinderpelt said.

"You got what you wanted. We're leaving for the Moonstone right now."

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><p><strong>Jarba Jarba Jarba. I'd like feedback. And I'd like for people to catch my little grammar and spelling mistakes. I go through the chapters, but I always miss some things. I guess it's just my curse. -sigh-<strong>


	3. Chapter Two: Four to Change

**Herpity Derpity. Don't really know what to put here, so I'll just type whatever comes to mind. Fish sticks. Cauliflower. Diet Pepsi.**

**... I must be hungry.**

**Anyways, enjoy chapter twuuuu and I enjoy reviews, so reviewing would be nice as well. Oh! And catching mistakes. Always look for those.**

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><p><strong>tuffed titmouse: Well, here's your update. Enjoy~<strong>

**Fred50208: Yes... I _do _like Sandstorm, just so you know. I'm not just hating on her.**

**GlimmerIcewood: Now you're making me feel spoiled! Thanks for the nice review, and here's the update!**

**Mally and Thalia: reviewing from your iPod? Hm, I'll have to try that out sometime. Enjoy~**

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><p>"Firestar, in the name of StarClan, <em>slow down!<em>"

Firestar stopped at the entrance into Highstones, the Mothermouth. Cinderpelt was limping behind him as fast as she possibly could, sweat and foam flaking her flanks. Her blue eyes were bright and livid as she drew up next to Firestar, breath coming in rapid gasps. Firestar flicked an ear sheepishly, he had been pushing Cinderpelt hard, and had reached the Mothermouth in record time. But he still wanted to push further and faster, and only felt frustrated when Cinderpelt asked him to slow down or to rest for a moment. He had hardly paused at the thunderpath, darting across despite Cinderpelt calling for him to slow. Couldn't she tell this was important? Couldn't she _feel_ something wrong in the world, as he did?

Obviously not, as she snorted and sat down to catch her breath. Firestar continued to pace in front of the Mothermouth as she licked a paw and drew it over her ears, and he struggled not to scream at her: _There isn't time for you to wash your stupid ears! Sandstorm called me, Sandstorm need me!_ It was all he could do not to race into the Mothermouth blindly in search of that glowing white what seemed like an age, Cinderpelt stood and nodded to him: she was ready to go into the darkness.

Firestar lead the way, though he had never done that before. But somehow his body knew which way to go, his whiskers and nose guiding him through the darkness until at last he saw a faint light in front of him, and then the tunnel widened into a cave with a massive, glittering, white stone at the center. The Moonstone beckoned to Firestar, whispering for him to lay down and sleep with his ancestors. He turned to Cinderpelt.

"Sleep with me," he said, "You will need to see this as well."

Cinderpelt nodded shakily and walked with Firestar to the stone. She hadn't been told why they were coming. Only that it was deathly important to the Clan and to Firestar. She laid down with Firestar and together they pressed their noses to the stone and slept.

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><p>There was no wind in StarClan. There never was a wind, as far as Firestar was concerned. Why would they need wind in StarClan? Why would the dead want living air? But the passing thought was pushed aside as Firestar stood in the center of a sandy hollow and at his side, Cinderpelt rose as well. She glanced at him and then at her crippled leg, and Firestar followed her gaze and smiled. Cinderpelt was one of the most crippled cats in the Clans by day, but in her dreams she was as whole and strong as any young warrior. Cinderpelt tested her leg and smiled as well. It seemed she knew this would happen.<p>

The world around them seemed no different that the forest they lived in except for the subtle subdued colors, ever plant and stand of grass and grain of sand was tinted the slightest shade of silver and overhead, instead of a black sky streaked with the stars of the Silverpelt, as a milky silver sky which cast a ghostish light across the world. The scents were dampened, and there were no birds chirping.

"I knew you would come, Firestar."

Both cats turned as Sandstorm entered the sandy hollow, her green eyes bright. Firestar brightened and bounded to her, pressing his nose against hers. Sandstorm purred and turned to Cinderpelt, giving her a friendly dip of the head, then turned back to Firestar and said;

"We should go now. I have many things to tell you."

She led the Leader and Medicine Cat through the forest without a word until they reached the edge of a meadow, and then down into the meadow to a pool of clear water. She motioned for Firestar and Cinderpelt to sit and then glanced around, as if searching for any other cats. Firestar did likewise, curious, but did not see anything. Sandstorm seemed to relax.

"There is change coming to the forest, Firestar." Sandstorm turned and sat on the opposite side of the pool, "And this change… it's so different, so _complete_, that it's changing the way the stars are aligned. Changing the way StarClan itself works and will act in the future. So different that we cannot even see the way the future will be. We haven't given you signs because _we don't know what to show you_."

"But surely you must have some idea what is going to happen," Cinderpelt insisted, "You know that change is coming, after all. There must be something more you know."

Sandstorm lowered her head, "We are not omniscient , Cinderpelt, there's never anything that StarClan knows for sure. The things we see in the future are often confused, garbled. StarClan saw that fire would save the Clan, but they did not know _how_. Prophecies so specific are rare, we will probably never see another in our lifetime. What we saw for this future is even less."

She motioned to the pool and Firestar and Cinderpelt looked in.

"No names, no faces, not even a coherent string of words. We were given images, with the fainted ideas of meanings and places. We spoke together and named them, but who they are we do not know."

The surface of the clear pool became opaque and turned white, and against the white pool a series of ink-dark shapes, like shadows, appeared and danced. Sandstorm touched a toe to the water and the shadows stilled and reformed, taking the shape of a single cat.

"We call the first one the Blind Eye." Sandstorm said. The form of the cat in the water turned towards Firestar and Cinderpelt. Where his eyes would be were patches of white. All he did was close his eyes and look away. Sandstorm looked up at Firestar and Cinderpelt, "All we know is that this cat will turn away from the loyalty to his or her Clan for a moment and spark a series of events. What these events are, we do not know. Nor do we know what it has to do with changing the forest."

She looked down to the pool again, "The next is the Broken Heart."

The shadow changed subtly, and the cat was now wailing soundlessly, head thrown back and mouth wide. The cat fell and rolled, still screaming silently as if in pain. Firestar felt a chill trickle down his spine. Sandstorm looked up again, "The Broken Heart is the clearest of the symbols. A cat who has suffered a heavy loss, one that breaks their heart into so many pieces that they are a mere shadow of whom they were, and can no longer be who they were meant to be.

"The Falling Bird." The cat changed into a small bird now that was falling, wings twisted at an awkward angle, feathers stripped from its wings and breast as it plummeted. Like the Broken Heart, its mouth was open, and Firestar could almost _hear_ the scream that it should have been making. Next to him, Cinderpelt trembled.

"The Falling Bird we know the least about. A cat that has changed. Once noble, now fallen from grace. It could be a warrior, a medicine cat, an apprentice, a leader. This cat will fall, and the earth will shake when they meets the ground. And last…"

The image changed one last time. A single cat, sitting quietly in the center of the pool. Around him rotated the three previous images, the Falling Bird, the Broken Heart, and the Blind Eye. The cat did nothing, not even blink, as he looked from image to image and then finally, back to Firestar and Cinderpelt. Firestar felt a cold lump grow in his belly.

"The last we call the Catalyst. The center of all the change. What the other three cats will do will affect the way this cat sees the world and how this cat decides to change it. This cat is outside of our power, outside of the cosmos. Everything in the world decides upon this cat. And yet there is nothing else we know about it."

"Nothing?" Firestar looked up. Sandstorm removed her paw from the pool and the images vanished.

"We do know one other thing," she said, "No two cats are in the same Clan."

"Then there's one in every Clan." Cinderpelt said. She glanced at Firestar, "That means there's one in ThunderClan."

"Yes. There is." Sandstorm whispered.

"Do you…?"

Sandstorm shook her head. Firestar narrowed his eyes and looked down at the pool again, half expecting to see the shadows and those four strange cats again. But the pool remained clear, and he could see their faint outlines in it. Firestar growled and slammed his paw into the water. Cinderpelt and Sandstorm jumped back, surprised.

"Is there _nothing_ StarClan can tell us?" Firestar snarled, "We have more questions than before! Can't you answer _one_ question?"

"Firestar, we're doing all that we can-"

"That's foxdung and you know it. What about the signs you keep giving me? The adder, the sunset and the river, that four colored plant that Burntfur showed me, what did you want _those_ to mean? Were you just going to tug us around by the tail? Why didn't you just _tell_ us that we need to find these cats-"

"Firestar, we don't-"

"-Why don't you just find them yourselves? Why don't you ever share these things with the Clans as soon as you find them? What do you want us to do? Why do you never tell us? What give you the right to-"

"Firestar!" Sandstorm bristled like a hedgehog, lips curled in a snarl and leaf-green eyes narrowed to slits. Firestar had rarely seen her this angry, even when she was alive, "StarClan doesn't know _what_ to do about these cats. Half of them want them dead and the other half want them alive. We don't _know_ who is giving you these signs, these four-colored flowers or these giant snakes and riddles. Listen to me: _no one knows what these cats are going to do_. We can't risk war between the Clans because we cannot decide. Please, Firestar, listen to-"

She froze when Firestar stood suddenly and turned around. He watched the edge of the forest, scanning the brush. Cinderpelt stood and turned, trying to see what Firestar was seeing. Sandstorm stood as well, the fur on her shoulders still bristling, but now with a different reason. A wind was blowing through StarClan. A wind that was never supposed to be, carrying the scent of ashes and cat. Firestar closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Yes – she was here. He whispered her name:

"_Burntfur_."

With a roar the earth beneath them heaved, and a jagged crack split the meadow in front of them. Cinderpelt screamed as fire shot up from the crack, catching on the grasses and spreading towards the trees. Sparks danced on a now-raging wind and the earth grumbled again. With a terrifying _crack_ the ground split again, and with a moan a jagged rock shot up from the ground directly next to Firestar. Sandstorm leaped across the pool and dodged a gush of fire that sprang from the ground as a new gorge opened. She landed next to Firestar and let out a cry. Firestar turned and saw the ground beneath Cinderpelt shudder and open, and Cinderpelt screamed again as she plummeted into darkness.

"Cinderpelt!" Firestar bellowed, scrambling after her. But another tongue of fire sprang from the crack and pushed him back. The fires were spreading, and Firestar and Sandstorm were trapped in the center of it all.

But they were not alone.

Burntfur walked between the flames as if they were harmless ferns. Her smoky fur did not catch; her white-ringed green eyes did not blink. She stepped calmly, quietly, and was speaking gently.

"_Rip off the mantle of the night and you will see below the pale, naked body of truth that every living thing in the world seeks. Cast aside the light of day and you will see the burnt reek of what once was and what will be again_…"

"Burntfur!" snarled Sandstorm. She charged to the translucent cat, snarling. But Burntfur dodged like a shadow, and continued to walk quietly to Firestar.

"_Slit a stream by its belly and find it wriggling with worms and maggots. Crack open the bones of the earth and find the undying rage that forces mountains to bow to its will and oceans to tremble and surge._.."

Firestar was rooted in his spot. Not with fear, nor wonder. His eyes did not leave Burntfur. His ears did not hear the groans of the earth or the rage of the fire or his desperate mate calling out to him. His feet did not feel the earth trembling. His nose only smelt her and her burnt scent. Burntfur stepped closer:

"_Cast death aside and find life. Cast life aside and find death_..."

"Fight her, Firestar!" Sandstorm screamed, "_Kill her!_"

"_Fear not the ending but the beginning. Scream not for death but for life. Feel the sand beneath your feet melt into glass_…"

"**Firestar**_!_"

"_Let the rivers flow backwards, let hate blow the songs of time across the desert, let the fire in the heart_…"

"…_cleanse the stars in the sky_." Firestar finished. Burntfur tilted her head and, for the first time, blinked slowly.

"Four to lead, four to heal, four to change, four to kill," Burntfur whispered. She raised a claw to her chest and tilted her claws awkwardly, dragging them down her chest. Four different scratches, and blood welled in each one. Black blood. White blood. Gray blood. Red blood. The scratches suddenly gushed blood in four colors across the ground, across the grass, across Firestar's chest. Burntfur stepped closer, and then closer still, until her chest pressed against his. He could feel the hot blood between the two of them. He could _feel her_.

"I am here because of you," Burntfur whispered to him, "I am here _for_ you."

She stepped back, and the dream finally ended.

* * *

><p>"Firestar, Firestar, wake up!"<p>

Two soft paws jostled Firestar awake, and he jerked upwards to see Cinderpelt, her blue eyes wide and full of fear.

"Firestar, what happened after I woke up? Wh-what's going on?"

Firestar looked down to his chest. Four scratches ran through his fur, four shallow cuts with blood beading in them. Cinderpelt followed his gaze and drew a sharp breath. Firestar pressed a paw to the scratches and felt them sting – he wasn't dreaming, the wounds were real. Firestar looked back up to Cinderpelt with large eyes.

"I don't know. I don't have any idea."

He was lying.

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><p><strong>Mer her her. It's 2 o'clock in the morning, it's time for the Heaven's Mirrors to blossom. Kudos to whoever knows where that comes from. <strong>

**Now that we're onto the second chapter, some may be thinking: "Well, Mij, I see here that this is supposed to be a mystery/romance story with Firestar as the main character. I see the mystery and Firestar, but where's the romance?" **

**Well blah blah blah, it's coming. And for the Firestar/Sandstorm lovers out there, the romance doesn't have anything to do with Firestar. In the next chapter a new POV will be revealed and the romance will set in. Honestly, saying that this is a romance story is a bit of a stretch, as it _is _secondary to what's going on with Firestar. But I digress. Next chapter = romance. Pinky promise.**


	4. Chapter Three: Death's Shadow

**Alright. It took a little longer than I thought it would, and it's considerably longer than the last few chapters and I can't decide if I should be proud of it or hate its guts, but here it is: Chapter Three: Death's Shadow. And, for our new POV... I give you, Whitepaw! There's going to be one last POV for this story which is planned to be introduced in the next chapter. PLANNED. This chapter was supposed to be only seven pages long, but it ended up being nearly fourteen. Things... change. I suppose. Anyway, as always to ensure that future readers will be delighted when they go back and read, I ask you to search for any spelling or grammar errors in this chapter, as because of it's length, I KNOW there will be some in there.**

* * *

><p><strong>tufted titmouse: And, as I promised, I delivered! Enjoy the romance and... I don't know. Enjoy it more!<strong>

**GlimmerIcewood: That you! One of my pet peeves are prophecies and how easy they are to decipher. HOWEVER I may be giving something away in this chapter. MAY... PROBABLY... KINDA SORTA... IF YOU SQUINT- yeah, just go on and read the chapter.**

* * *

><p>"Let me get this one, Whitepaw. I heard a story of a cat who was blinded when a bird scratched his eyes."<p>

"Father, you said that about the last two as well, can I _please_ try to catch this one?""

"No, I told you, you could get hurt if you go after this one. We'll find a nice, fat mouse for you to practice with first.'

"Father, one of those two was a mouse."

"It was a dangerous-looking mouse, if you ask me. Now be quiet and let me hunt."

Whitepaw sighed and flopped onto her belly, quiet enough so that the feeding birds in front of them didn't hear. Cloudtail, her father, crouched next to her, his blue eyes fixed on a smaller bird with a twisted leg. With the ease of a practiced hunter, Cloudtail surged forward, smooth as silk and silent as a shadow. Whitepaw watched with half-open eyes as her father caught the bird with the lame leg, scattering the others as he did so, and brought it back to her. He dropped it in front of her and Whitepaw looked away. Cloudtail frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Whitepaw mumbled. Of course it was nothing. It was always nothing. The NOTHING that Whitepaw was doing whenever Cloudtail took her out to 'teach' her.

Whitepaw had been apprenticed for almost two moons now, and she had yet to even get a full tour of the forest. Her mother, Brightheart, had died three moons before from an infected bite during a border skirmish, and Cloudtail had insisted on mentoring his daughter. Firestar had agreed, thinking to foster a powerful bond between father and daughter…

… except Cloudtail didn't teach Whitepaw anything. Her first day of being an apprentice was spent cleaning the elder's den and clearing out the rotten food from the fresh-kill pile. Her second day was going to fetch wet moss for the queens to lick, and the cleaning out the nursery. Her third day was going to sunning rocks to practice hunting. Hunting for herbs, that is, as Cloudtail had brought along Cinderpelt. Oh, they practiced hunting for prey that day too, but only the basic hunting crouch. Every day was like that. Cleaning. Fetching. Practice a pretty pose and then moving on. Cloudtail had let her catch _one_ thing today, a half-blind, half-dead mole that was stuck under a rock. The rest, the mouse, the finch, the vole, and the sparrow, had all been his kills. Though the way he acted was like she had killed all of those.

Cloudtail frowned, "Well it's obviously not nothing. Do you feel alright? Are you feverish? Did you get a cut anywhere?"

"No, Father, I'm _fine_," Whitepaw said. Perhaps a bit too harshly. Cloudtail narrowed his eyes and flicked his tail.

"There's no reason to give me that tone of voice. Tell me what's wrong and I'll solve it for you."

"I don't want you to solve it for me."

"_Whitepaw_."

Whitepaw said nothing. Cloudtail sighed.

"I'll let you catch the next one, I promise."

"You said that about almost all the prey we've caught today."

"Well I mean it this time."

"Foxdung," Whitepaw snarled and Cloudtail's eyes opened wide, "You never let me do anything. You know what Spiderpaw and Molepaw are doing today? They're having battle practice, and I wanted to go along with them but you won't let me. You told me I could go the next time. But that's exactly what you told me the last time, and the time before that."

"I've watched Spiderpaw and Molepaw fight and they're too rough for you. It's too dangerous, and you're not strong enough."

"I'm strong enough! And I'll never going to get stronger if you don't let me fight!"

"I never intend to let you fight. I'm here to protect you, and I'm not going to lose you like how I lost your mother."

"I'm not Mother and I never will be! I want to _fight_, Father. I want to hunt to learn all the things that Spiderpaw and Molepaw are learning."

"You _are_ learning-"

"No I'm not! I'm not and I feel stupid and it's all because of you."

"Whitepaw!" Cloudtail snarled, "Don't you _dare_-"

"I hate you. I hate you I hate you I hate you. I wish that badger had come six moons earlier, so Mother and I would both be rid of you."

"_Whitepaw_!"

But Whitepaw had already turned and ran into the woods as fast as she could. Though a forest that was hardly even half-familiar with her, and in a direction she had never been before. Cloudtail could chase her all she liked, for all she cared. But she could make herself run faster. Make herself run farther than he ever was able to. So far away that she wasn't covered by the shadow of her Mother's death. So far away that she could feel what it was like to be in danger.

* * *

><p>The thunderpath. Whitepaw stared at the other side and the tall pine trees and scraggly thorn bushes that bordered the thunderpath. ShadowClan territory. She hadn't realized how far she had come. Whitepaw stood at the edge of the thunderpath, panting but no less angry. She watched the other side for a long time, not knowing why exactly. Her father's face was still in front of her, lips curled and snarling.<p>

_I'm not going to lose you like I lost your mother!_

Whitepaw growled impatiently and lashed her tail. How dare he! Her own father, trying to discourage her from practicing, hunting, _learning!_ She would show him. She would show him that she was a great warrior, that she would someday be the greatest in all the Clans. She would show him that she wasn't delicate, she wasn't a fragile herb to be dried out and tucked into the corner of a den. She was a warrior and by StarClan, she was going to prove it!

With hardly a glance in either direction Whitepaw darted across the thunderpath. The hot, black rock was sticky under her soft paws and burned, but Whitepaw ignored it, her frustration giving her courage and speed. And then her toes touched soft, slightly damp dirt, and Whitepaw slowed to a stop. Was that really it? Whitepaw turned back, looking at the strip of strange black rock. What that all the thunderpath really was? A mere dash across the camp? It hardly looked that wide, now that she was on the other side.

The other side.

Whitepaw felt excitement surge inside of her. She was there; she was on the other side! The other side!

Whitepaw froze, catching the smell of a ShadowClan scent marker, reminding her to be careful. She had never met a hostile cat before. She'd never even met a ShadowClan cat before, never having gone to a Gathering. All she knew were kit stories from the elders, who whispered that the icy winds of the north blew over ShadowClan and made their hearts just as frigid and cold. That ShadowClan was the most ferocious of the Clans, known for their powerful attacks and ruthless cunning. That they kidnapped kits to force them to be their own warriors.

Whitepaw suddenly felt very cold, and glanced back over the thunderpath, towards the warm deciduous trees of ThunderClan territory and then the tall, stark trees in ShadowClan. Whitepaw started to take a step back towards home.

_It's too dangerous for you, you're not strong enough._

Whitepaw stopped and pressed her ears flat against her skull, then lowered herself into a hunter's crouch and began to creep deeper into ShadowClan territory.

ShadowClan territory was vastly different than ThunderClan. For one thing it was far more wet, as Whitepaw was soon to realize that her white fur easily picked up the mud from the murky pools. It was also a great deal more barren than she realized, the shrubs were few and patchy, the trees not sprouting branches until many tail-lengths above her. Every once in a white she would snag a paw on one of the tree roots or a patch of thorn and curse to herself, then continue along ShadowClan territory.

She didn't really know what she was looking for. A warrior, perhaps? Someone she could shred up real nice and tear off a bit of their ear and bring it back to ThunderClan to her father, to prove to him that she was strong. Or perhaps she could steal their prey. Yes! Hunt prey in their lands, proving that she could hunt _and_ was bold enough to enter another Clan's territory! Brilliant!

No sooner had she thought of this, Whitepaw stumbled over a lump in a drier area of the swamps, unearthing the bushy, dusty tail of a dead squirrel. Whitepaw pawed at it more, and uncovered the entire thing. Perfect! A hunting patrol had probably buried this and was planning to come back and get it. She dug her paws under it and lifted it to the surface. The squirrel was nice and plump, and she grinned as she picked it up, trying to hide a giggle of glee. Her father wouldn't think her as weak after this!

"Cedarheart, pick up that squirrel you caught earlier and we'll head back to camp."

"Right away, Russetfur."

Whitepaw felt her blood run cold. The hunting patrol!

_Oh no. Oh no no no no no. Not now. They can't be coming now_.

But they were. Whitepaw could smell them coming closer and felt her stomach drop and her heart leap into her chest. No, they couldn't find her! She turned and ran, stumbling back along the path she vaguely remembered, sniffing the air desperately over the squirrel and mud around her, trying to find her scent, ThunderClan's scent, the scent of the _thunderpath_, for StarClan's sake! But she couldn't smell anything, and kept running.

"Russetfur, it's not here."

"What?" an agitated hiss, "If one of those rogues stole our prey again… Come, Cedarheart, we'll track him."

Tracking? No! Whitepaw skidded to a stop, glancing around. She needed to hide her scent, and fast. A deeper pool of water caught her eye and she darted for it, splashing into it up to her belly and then wading to a thicker bush of thorns. Mud squished up between her toes and clung to her fur in heavy clots, but Whitepaw ignored it, squeezing under the bush, she sunk deeper into the mud, up to her ankles and pressed herself deeper into it, up to her belly, where the water washed over her back and muddied it as well. She dunked her head beneath the surface of the muddy water, coating her fur with mud completely, and then flattened herself beneath the bush just as a pair of warriors leaped through the bushes she had just come from.

"You smell it?" growled a large she-cat with dark ginger fur. Her dark green eyes were blazing as she scanned the forest. Whitepaw struggled not to tremble, not even to lower herself deeper into the mud, lest she notice. She had heard this cat's name before. Russetfur, the ferocious deputy of ShadowClan. She had once been a rogue, and was considered to be one of the most elite warriors in the forest. She paced, sniffing the ground and growling. The other cat was more slender and taller, but still far larger than Whitepaw. His eyes were bright and a warm amber color and his fur was dark gray. He tilted his head as he looked at the ground, sniffing thoughtfully.

"I'll check in this direction, you check over there." Russetfur ordered. The tom, Cedarheart, Whitepaw guessed, nodded and began to walk along the bank of the pool Whitepaw had waded into. Whitepaw pressed herself lower and lower into the mud as he neared, until she could see the texture of his fur and the dust caught between the hairs. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying to StarClan that he would not see her. For a few moments she heard nothing. Tentatively, Whitepaw opened her eyes.

And was nose-to-nose with the gray tom.

Whitepaw's breath caught in her throat. Icy claws gripped her lungs. Fear roared in her ears. She felt her claws dig into the mud that was now past her belly. Everything physical in her body told her freeze rather than run, no matter how much her brain tried to force it. Whitepaw said nothing, not breathing, not blinking. The tom blinked twice, still staring at Whitepaw, and then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. No doubt he would be able to smell the ThunderClan scent on her from so close. Then the cat stood, and called over his shoulder:

"There's nothing over here, Russetfur. Have you found anything?"

What?

"Nothing but the smell of those ThunderClan scum. If they've crossed the border than I'll have my teeth in Firestar before the moon has turned."

"We're close to the thunderpath, they could have just remarked their borders, and the wind is coming from the south today."

_What?_

"And the squirrel?"

"There's a fresh foxscent here. A fox probably ran off with it."

_WHAT?_

"Fox?" Russetfur growled from a distance away, "StarClan knows we need another one of _those_. Come, we'll go back to camp and tell Blackstar and warn the queens. "

"Good idea." Cedarheart turned back to Whitepaw and said, in a quieter voice, "If you want to make it back to ThunderClan with your pelt in one piece, say where you are until sunset."

Without waiting for a reply, Cedarheart turned and ran after Russetfur, leaving Whitepaw up to her belly in mud and up to her ears in trouble.

* * *

><p>Cold and wet and hungry. Whitepaw tensed when her belly grumbled, and tried again to free herself from the mud. She had sunk in far deeper than she expected, and what was once around her ankles was now up to her shoulders and flanks, and impossible to move in. She fretted over passing cats hearing her belly growling or even her chattering teeth. She hadn't been able to get them to stop and so had forced her muzzle into the mud to quiet them. But this only made her even colder more miserable. Whitepaw grumbled in frustration and tried to lift her paws again, but they were stuck fast, the mud making an ugly sucking noise when she pulled will all of her might but still not giving. She sniffed and then lowered her face into the mud and began to cry quietly.<p>

She was so hungry and cold and wet and scared and alone and…

"You're still here, I see."

Whitepaw snapped her head up to come face-to-face with the gray tom again, Cedarheart. How had he snuck up on her? She hadn't heard him coming, hadn't smelled him… But he wasn't looking at her, he was examining the thorn bush she was lodged under and pawing at it, moving the thorns aside. Despite his promise to help her, Whitepaw felt herself shrinking back into the mud, further away from him. Cedarheart caught this and narrowed his eyes.

"Don't do that. You'll only get yourself stuck even more. Just wait a moment." He pawed another piece of thorn aside until he could fit his head and shoulders beneath the plant without much difficulty, and then took a closer look at her situation, "You've got yourself deep into the scroggs, best I've seen since Rowanclaw fell in backwards."

Despite her fear and chattering teeth, Whitepaw had to ask: "S-s-s-crog-g-s?"

"It's what we call the deep mud you've so fantastically decided to make a nest in. Kits are usually the ones who get stuck in them. Blind ones, that is."

"A-a-are you c-calling m-me a b-blind-d k-kit? I-I'm an a-ap-aprentice!" Whitepaw tried her best to snap, but failed miserably. Cedarheart laughed a little.

"Ah, then you're worse, that makes you blind, deaf, _and_ a thorn in the paw."

"D-dumb Sh-ShadowClan…"

"Ah, and loud. Can't forget that."

Whitepaw muttered something under her breath and Cedarheart finally nodded, finishing his assessment.

"I'm going to start to pull you up. While I'm doing it, pull up as hard as you can with one of your front legs, it should be enough to dislodge you, and then pull on the other one. We'll go from there." And then he bent and gripped Whitepaw by the scruff like a kit. Without bothering for an answer he began a steady pressure on her, lifting her slowly from the mud. Whitepaw struggled with one paw, heaving as hard as she could and, to her surprise, managing to pull one leg free from the mud. She tried the other leg. It was harder, and her shoulder joint popped, but she got it free as well, and Cedarheart pulled her closer to the drier area.

"Don't try to stand just yet," he told her quickly, "Lay on your belly, spread the weight around you as much as possible and then try to work your back legs up one at a time, _slowly_."

Whitepaw did as she was told and, after a while and a little more coaching, she managed to free both her back legs. Cedarheart quickly grabbed her scruff and pulled her onto the dry land and stepped back. Whitepaw tried to stand, but she had never felt more exhausted in her entire life. Every muscle in her body felt iced-over and weak, she felt like she was less than a kit, a beetle a kit could bowl her over with a laugh. A frozen beetle, that is, and covered with mud. Cedarheart came closer and sniffed her, then grabbed her scruff again and pulled her upright.

"H-hey, what a-are you d-doing?" Whitepaw struggled weakly in his teeth as he set her on her paws again. Her legs trembled when he released her, and then she collapsed, shivering. Cedarheart sighed.

"How long did you try to get out of that mud?"

"I s-stopped trying a-about an h-hour b-before you c-came."

"You know that saying 'if at first you don't succeed, try, try again?' That doesn't mean try the exact same thing over and over again, especially if you are trapped in the scroggs."

"O-oh t-trot off, you s-smelly toad."

"Not until you get to your feet. Come on, try again."

"But I'm c-cold. I-I'm so h-hungry and…"

"Well you should have thought of this before you decided to hunt in ShadowClan territory. Come on, try again."

Whitepaw struggled to gather her legs under her but couldn't find the strength to push against the ground. She flopped over and Cedarheart shook his head with a sigh:

"Again. Up."

"B-but I'm _cold_."

"That's part of being a warrior, learning how to deal with things you don't like. Now _up_, try again."

Whitepaw gritted her teeth and pushed again, as hard as she could. Cedarheart grabbed her scruff again and hauled her up, and she managed to collect her legs beneath her, shaky as they were. She began to stumble but Cedarheart caught and steadied her, then nodded.

"Good. We're not far from the thunderpath at all. I can get you across, but you have to get yourself to your camp."

"Th-the camp? But it's so f-far…"

"Should have thought of that before trespassing. Did you eat that squirrel?"

"N-no."

Cedarheart stepped back and picked up the squirrel, then brought it to her again, "Eat, it'll give you enough strength to get back to you camp. You'll warm up when we start walking."

"B-but-"

"_Eat._"

Whitepaw lowered her head and did as she was told. The mud and the squirrel made her belly hot, almost burning, but she ignored it and kept eating. Cedarheart was right, she would never be able to get back to the camp without more energy. She felt stronger after she finished, but no less cold, and managed to stand and take a few wobbly steps by herself while Cedarheart buried the bones of the squirrel near the 'scroggs.' Then, not saying much more, he took a place by her side and helped guide her through the swamp, grabbing her scruff and steadying her if she began to trip or stumble. He was right about the walk as well, it did warm her body considerably. But the progress was painfully slow, and as the trees cleared, Whitepaw realized that it was well past midnight, and in a few hours, dawn would long had she been stuck in that mud?

Whitepaw didn't think she could ever be happy to smell the acidic, rotting stench of the thunderpath. But she was, and with Cedarheart's help, climbed the small slope to the thunderpath's edge. The thunderpath was quiet, and Whitepaw watched as Cedarheart pressed an ear to the strange black rock and nodded.

"No monsters for a while. Come, we can make it across easily."

After tottering through the soft, squishy bog for hours, walking on solid rock was strange, and Whitepaw's balance became considerably worse. But Cedarheart steadied her again and continued to help her across the strange rock path, sometimes pushing and sometimes pulling her, always gentle with his touch and never sharp with his words. Whitepaw collapsed at the other side, breathing in deeply the smell of the ThunderClan scent markers. Cedarheart sat and watched her for a moment, and then stood and headed back to the thunderpath.

"Wait!" Whitepaw scrambled to her feet again, shaking still. Cedarheart paused at the edge of the thunderpath and looked back to her curiously, "You're name is Cedarheart, right?"

"That's correct," Cedarheart said cautiously.

"My name is Whitepaw," she said, "Will I see you again?"

"At the Gatherings, perhaps, or in battle. Or when we're dead. Any of those work for you?"

"The Gathering would be nice. But… but what about the squirrel? I need to pay you back for the squirrel."

"Squirrel, shmerrel. It was a lazy creature, hardly even worth the effort to kill it. Just pretend like none of this ever happened, kit-"

"-_Apprentice_-"

"-turkey, I don't care. Walk silently, and you might want to get clean before you go to camp. Farewell, Whitepaw."

And Cedarheart bounded across the thunderpath, vanishing into ShadowClan territory. Whitepaw watched the place he had vanished for a long time before turning back to her own forest, and walking in the opposite direction. Something in her belly began to stir, similar to the time Spiderpaw was sharing tongues with her but stronger, and a little… lighter. Light clouds were caught in her belly and heart. Whitepaw smiled and looked over her shoulder one last time at the ShadowClan territory. She would make sure that wasn't the last she would see of Cedarheart.

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><p><strong>Trah-daahhhh! Romance!<strong>

**It's a bit of a crack pairing, being Whitepaw and Cedarheart, but there is method to my madness. I chose Cedarheatr for several reasons, mostly because (a) I hate Birchfall and (b) I love his name. And he was such a blank slate I can pretty much do anything with him. For example, the entire time I was writing this chapter I was picturing him talking in a British accent. Who knew?**

**And as a side note, another reason this chapter took a little longer than it was supposed to: I'm planning another story! (dances)**

**You can look up into my profile for the summary, but for those of you who are too lazy to do that, I'll just summarize it right here: It's a story of Brokenstar's rise to power and why the five cats who left with him (Jaggedtooth, Blackfoot, Boulder, Clawface, and Russetfur) did so. I'm taking a few liberties of my own, such as Jaggedtooth and Russetfur being siblings, and I still haven't figured out the structure, but I'll keep you posted and keep on working!**

**And, as a reminder, review! I love reviews. That make my tummy warm and happy :)**


	5. Chapter Four: The Colors of Change

**Alright, there's a reason for this chapter being late, honest. You see, there was this enormous snake monster that rose from the Pacific Ocean a couple days ago-**

**-there was a tornado in the middle of the ocean that dropped a bucket on my head-**

**-My house caught on fire-**

**-You know what sucks? Ebola-**

**Alright, fine! I've been lazy, I admit it. And in addition to that I've been playing a little game entitled, oh, I don't know, FINAL FANTASY 13 which has been sucking up my usual writing time (8 PM to 3 AM). But better late than never, I guess. We have a new POV in this chapter as well, for all of you to know. It's only a small intro into his mind, bigger chapters will come later, but this is the last POV that I'm going to enter. We're about halfway through with this story, can you believe it? It's going so fast! And I've been toying with my Elite story right now. It's probably going to be a series of oneshots in a single story, and it's going to be... dark. Darker than this, I can easily say.**

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><p><strong>tufted titmouse: I was giggling to myself as well when I was writing that. I enjoyed writing his character, really. <strong>

**GlimmerIcewood: Inorite? And good! I don't want to give anything away! :)**

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><p>Two days after Firestar had visited StarClan at the Moonstone he woke at almost sunhigh, and, strange as waking late was to him, he felt strangely tired, and only wished to lay his head back down and fall asleep. But he didn't, and managed to drag himself upright and stretch before grooming himself quickly and exit his den. Cinderpelt, passing by with Willowpelt and her three kits, glanced at him and excused herself from the queen and her kits to detour over to Firestar.<p>

"My herb supplies are running low, I was just taking the kits out," she said with a small smile and then frowned when she took a closer look at Firestar, "Are you still tired? I won't be long. Get some kill and rest and I'll wake you up when I get back so we can talk about the dream, alright?"

"Of course," Firestar murmured and left her without saying goodbye. Cinderpelt gazed after him for a long time before turning back to Willowpelt and leaving the camp. Firestar would have to remember to hold the ceremony tonight for her kits, it was getting to be overdue. Firestar grabbed a mouse and made his way back to his den, glancing at where Whitepaw was dozing in the shadow by the apprentice den and wondering briefly why she wasn't out training with Spiderpaw and Molepaw. But Firestar pushed the though aside as he entered his den again and settled among the moss of his nest to eat. When he was finished he played with the bones, waiting to get drowsy, but found his mind strangely alert where he body was exhausted. He placed his head on his paws and watched the bones.

The world used to make sense. There used to be sides of Us and Them and We would fight Them until They were Gone and Dead. There used to be courage and hope, but where were they now? Firestar felt his claws sink into the moss. Where was the courage to fight Them? Who was on Our side, and why wouldn't they let themselves be know? It used to be simple: find the liar, expose him, kill him. But when there were no more lies, where could one find the courage to not search for them any longer? What use was a warrior if there were no wars to be fought?

"Firestar? May I enter?"

Firestar jolted upright and spun to the entrance. It took him a few moments to realize that the voice belonged to Whitestorm, his faithful deputy. Firestar struggled to compose himself and looked down to his claws, where he had torn his nest to shreds, scattering it with the bones of the mouse he killed. There was no time to clean it now, so Firestar sat back down among the shredded moss and bones, calling back and allowing Whitestorm to enter. The elderly warrior was no less powerful than he had been in the past, though Firestar could see the mark of age on his muzzle and the stiffness in his walk. He would have to tell Whitestorm to be deputy for at least another two seasons as he trained his son.

"Firestar, I need to talk to you about Cloudtail and Whitepaw," Whitestorm said, sitting down near the entrance of the den. He glanced down the mess that Firestar had made but ultimately ignored it. Firestar needed to take his frustration out on something.

"What about them?" Firestar asked. He began grooming his face but his bright eyes never left Whitestorm. Whitestorm seemed a little nervous about speaking to him.

"It's come to my attention, as well as the attention of several other warriors, that… We don't believe Cloudtail is training Whitepaw properly. She's been his apprentice for nearly two moons now and hasn't had a single battle practice and is woefully inept at hunting. I've spoken to Brakenfur and Graystripe and they say that Cloudtail never trains with Molepaw or Spiderpaw. In fact, Spiderpaw has said Whitepaw doesn't even know the differences between the hunting stances. While you were resting after returning from Highstones yesterday, Whitepaw went missing, and only came back this morning. Cloudtail says she simply got separated from him and was lost, but Whitepaw states that she had a fight with her father and ran away, and didn't know how to get back to the Clan."

"Why would she not know how to get back to the Clan?"

"Because Cloudtail has never given her a tour of the territory before. All she knows is Sunningrocks and the Great Sycamore and the camp, but none of the trails that connect them. Firestar, I am seriously concerned about Whitepaw's training, and I ask you to speak to Cloudtail and reassign her mentor. Graystripe and I have spoken and we think that it should be done. I can take on Whitepaw until she become a warrior-"

"No," Firestar cut in. Whitestorm paused uncertainly, "I'll take on Whitepaw. You're going to have to mentor your son, Snakekit, starting tomorrow night. Dustpelt is going to take Icekit and Cinderpelt is going to take Dovekit."

"I will mentor Snakekit?" Whitestorm was startled, "Firestar, I'm reaching retirement, I ache in more places that I should for not fighting every day and many younger cats are more eager to be mentors than I. It hadn't seems fair for me to mentor Snakekit."

"Rainwhisker, Sootfur, and Sorreltail are all too young to be mentors, as is Brambleclaw, if you were going to suggest him. No, Whitestorm, you will mentor Snakekit and I will mentor Whitepaw. You will remain as my deputy until Snakekit becomes a warrior and then you may retire."

"Firestar, I cannot voice how much I disapprove of this-"

"Then don't. Inform Dustpelt that he will be mentoring Icekit and Cloudtail that Whitepaw is no longer his apprentice but mine and leave me in peace."

Whitestorm took a deep breath but said nothing, then turned and left the den without another word.

Firestar closed his eyes and slept for a while longer and was then awakened by Cinderpelt and her gentle, soft paws nudging him awake. She looked troubled, and sat quietly as Firestar stretched and yawned, trying to wake up.

"Cloudtail is unconscious in my den right now." She said idly. Firestar glanced at her.

"He was throwing a tantrum about how Whitepaw had run off by herself again and how he wasn't mentoring her any longer. So Whitestorm and Graystripe held him down while I gave him five poppy seeds."

"Five? Isn't that a bit much?"

"I originally gave him three, but that only seemed to make him more angry. Four just made him drowsy, and five finally made him crash. Whitestorm set up Brackenfur and Sorreltail to watch them."

"Oh? Sorreltail and Brackenfur? Why them?"

"Because I told him to. Those two are going to fall in love and have nice, strong kits, just watch."

Firestar laughed, "Cinderpelt, are you telling me you _arrange_ cats to fall in love?"

"Well if I don't do it, no one will. Right now I'm working on Whitepaw, but it's always harder with apprentices. She's got Spiderpaw written all over her, but I'm holding out for Sootfur or Rainwhisker."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"It's always nice to have more relatives of your deputy around, I suppose. We'll see when she comes around though, she does have the final say in it. I just… guide them to the right cat. And speaking of 'right cat,'" Cinderpelt's eyes narrowed, "We need to speak about Sandstorm and those four cats."

"The Catalyst and the Causes," Firestar said quietly to himself, so quiet that Cinderpelt didn't catch it, and then, louder, "I have absolutely no idea who it could be, Cinderpelt. I've known these cats for most of their lives and… I don't see anything that Sandstorm was talking about in any of them."

"Come, Firestar, you must see _something_. This forest is not perfect, nor this Clan, nor the cats who make this Clan. You know most of them better than I, You must have some idea."

"I just don't want think that one of my Clan is…" Firestar's voice trailed off, and he raised his head. Cinderpelt turned as well, but saw no one at the entrance to his den. Firestar stood, "… I'll be right back."

"What? Where are you going?" Cinderpelt hopped to her paws and started after FIrestar, "Firestar, is it _her_?"

"Yes," Firestar mumbled offhand, staring at something in the distance that Cinderpelt couldn't see. He started to make his way to the entrance and Cinderpelt limped after him, Firestar tore his eyes from whatever he was looking at and snapped at Cinderpelt; "Don't come with me, I have to be alone."

Perhaps his voice was too hard; perhaps that tickle in his throat as he spoke had been a snarl. But Firestar didn't care, his voice stopping Cinderpelt in her tracks and making her eyes large and round. He hurried away, following that teasing, bitter sweet smell of burned fur. As soon as he was out of sight from the Clan, he broke into a run, heedless of any prey he was scaring or any cats he would disturb. The scent wound through the forest almost like a visible ribbon, soft as kitten fur and cold as ice, digging tiny hooks into his nose and yanking him forward. He couldn't have stopped if he wanted to. He ran faster as the hook dragged into him, pulling him hard through the forest, through the ferns, through the bracken and bramble and trees and fire and ashes and…

The hook was gone. The scent had vanished. Firestar skidded to a stop, glancing around. Why had he stopped? His brain was muddled, as if rocks were falling around in it. What was he looking for again? Why was he here?

And then another trickle of scent. His memory returned to him. Burntfur. And she was close. But was it time to call her yet? Firestar closed his eyes. No, he needed to be closer. But only a little closer. He followed the scent until it grew almost unbearably strong, nearly gagging himself. But it still wasn't right. Not quite… Firestar looked up and opened his eyes;

"_Burntfur._"

Sunlight on yellow rock. The river. The forest. He was standing on the edge of sunningrocks and there, in the center, was Burntfur. Her translucent body seemed more opaque now, and her enormous green eyes blinked slowly and evenly. She tilted her head as she saw him and stood, walking down the far side of sunningrocks towards the river and out of his line of sight. Firestar bounded after her, and his breath caught in his throat when he reached the rise and looked down at the border between ThunderClan and RiverClan.

The scent was overpowering. Not Burntfur and her bittersweet smell. The smell of fish. And rot.

Hundreds upon hundreds of fish lined both sides of the river until it seemed to be bordered by silver and green. Yes, green, because the fish were coated in pustules that were burst with rotten green fluid. Firestar padded down to where Burntfur sat and looked at the fish, hardly a whiskerlength in front of them. They weren't just diseased, he saw, they were… mutated as well. Many of the fish sported extra fins or tails, some with mouths on their throats or squashed eyes or squashed faces. Burntfur touched a fish and dragged it from the rest. Firestar would only realize later that it was the first time Burntfur had touched and moved something, since his mind was elsewhere.

"Look," was all Burntfur said, and then stood up and walked down the stream. Firestar didn't follow her. He knew that her purpose here was done, and that if he wanted to, he would never be able to follow her. So instead he looked at what Burntfur had touched, what Burntfur had _moved_, and felt his stomach contract.

The fish looked no different than the others at first, until Firestar realized that there was another one underneath it, and not only that, _grown into it_. Two faces gaped at him from one fused body, their eyes wide and surprised, almost comical if their eyes hadn't been those sickening red colors. White. Black. Gray. Red.

"The Colors of Change," Firestar murmured to himself, not thinking. He did not dare touch the fish, nor any of the other fish in the stream. Who knew if they could transfer that disease to him? He looked out at the fish and the river again, "_Slit a stream by its belly and find it wriggling with worms and maggots._"

"Firestar!"

Firestar looked up and was confused for a moment, Bluestar? What was she doing here? And why was she still alive? But Firestar blinked, and he saw the large, spotted cat next to her. Mistyfoot, and her leader, Leopardstar. They padded down the stream until they were across from him, and Firestar stood.

"I'll allow you onto ThunderClan territory for now, as I wouldn't like to speak over the river," he called out to him. Mistyfoot and Leopardstar nodded and delicately jumped over the line of fish, wading across the river. He let them shake themselves dry before joining him at the top of sunningrocks, where they could all see the extent of the dead fish. It probably wasn't the smartest idea, letting the two powerful RiverClan cats onto his territory while he was alone, but frankly, Firestar didn't care. He didn't particularly want to talk to Mistyfoot or Leopardstar either, but they had mdae it clear that they wanted to speak to him, and he didn't want the wrath of RiverClan right now.

"I've never seen anything like it," murmured Leopardstar, "In all my years… this many dead fish at once. It doesn't make any sense."

"I've seen nothing like it either," Firestar said. Mistyfoot glanced at both of them.

"Could this be a message from StarClan?" she asked.

"I have no idea what it would mean," Leopardstar said, "We would need Mudfur for that. Interpretation was never my greatest skill."

"It's not a message from StarClan," Firestar said quietly, and both she-cats looked at him. His eyes were fixed on the fish, "It's a message from the future, something that StarClan has no say in. You must feel it too, Leopardstar," he looked at her and saw nothing but fear in her eyes, "The air is still. The prey hides well. The forest is waiting for something to break, something to _change_. And this is only the beginning." He motioned around them, "Soon this will happen to the other Clans, and bring to their attention that something is going to change, and change fast. We're really only puppets, Leopardstar. Nothing but puppets."

Both cats were staring at him now, but Firestar did not feel uncomfortable under their gaze. Leopardstar glanced at Mistyfoot and both stood uncertainly.

"The Gathering is in three nights, Firestar," Leopardstar said, as if to remind him, "We'll speak with the other leaders. We'll go to the Moonstone with our Medicine Cats. They can tell us what to do."

"There's nothing that we can do," Firestar murmured to himself, but looked up to Leopardstar and nodded, "Very well. That's what we'll do. I'll be seeing you there then, Leopardstar."

He didn't bother to wonder why Leopardstar wasn't her usual, crisp and cold self, nor did he wonder why she started running up the river, towards the RiverClan camp, as soon as she was on the opposite side of the border. It probably wasn't a good idea to let them onto his territory either, but Firestar really didn't _care_. He watched the fish and the river for a long time, until the sun had nearly set, and then stood, and returned to his camp.

"Firestar?" Cinderpelt entered his den quietly. An apprentice had cleaned his den, and by the scent of it, it was Spiderpaw. Firestar was lying quietly on his nest, staring into space. He pulled out of his trance briefly to look at Cinderpelt. His eyes seemed old, impossibly old and tired. Cinderpelt didn't bother to ask him about what Burntfur had shown him. She didn't want to know.

"Cloudtail," Firestar said quietly. Cinderpelt sat down next to him and began grooming his fur, "The only one in the entire Clan I can think of is Cloudtail. Cloudtail's been acting strange ever since Brightheart died, he's been training Whitepaw poorly. He's angry, he never speaks to me, he…" Cinderpelt hushed him and laid down next to him, curling her smaller body against his. Firestar lowered his head onto her flank, "Cloudtail is the Broken Heart."

"Hush, Firestar," Cinderpelt soothed him, "We can speak of it in the morning. For now, rest. Sleep and rest and let your dreams be untroubled."

Firestar closed his eyes and felt his heart break inside. But, as Cinderpelt wished on him, his dreams were untroubled and sweet.

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><p>The dangerous hunter stalked forward, watching the helpless mouse as it tittered in the shadow of a tree, thinking that it was safe. Lithe as the darkness itself, the noble warrior crept closer, rejoicing at the thrill of the hunt and the kill, the moonlight brushing over his pelt and shining in his large blue eyes, which were so blue they seemed to capture the stars in them. Fearless, handsome, and not bad with the ladies, the warrior stepped closer, in one moment it would all be-<p>

_Snap!_

The mouse ran and vanished into the darkness. Reedpaw bounded after it but crashed into a thorn bush and, with a yowl, tumbled backwards. He sat up and heard familiar giggling in the bushes and frowned, "Swallowpaw, is that you?"

"That was a _spectacular_ failure, Reedpaw," Swallowpaw giggled when she stepped out of the bushes nearby. Her fur was smooth and shiny and brown and tabby, and her eyes were large and green, "And I'm afraid you chased off the prey in this area again. Why don't we split up now? I'll take the river and you can take the gorge by WindClan."

Reedpaw flustered and agreed to it, and Swallowpaw bounded off, her pawsteps quiet as ever. Reedpaw frowned again and scuffed his paws in the dust. He really had wanted to catch the mouse to show off to Swallowpaw. She was his best friend and the sweetest cat in the Clan and had the nicest smell to her fur…

Concentrate! Prey! Bring back lots of prey and she'll be really impressed with you! Reedpaw set off with new determination, his steps bouncing as he trotted through the forest north, towards the gorge. He must've strayed further north than either he or Swallowpaw had noticed, because he was there soon, and standing on the edge of the gorge, looking down at the river below. In this section of the gorge the water ran slower, slow enough to hear the other side and what was going on. Two cats could easily have a conversation if they only raised their voices a little, not that any RiverClan cat would want to have a conversation with a WindClan.

Reedpaw crept to the edge of the gorge and looked down at the slow-moving black snake of a river beneath him. Every once in a while the water would catch the edge of a moonbeam and glitter silver-white before vanishing as quickly as it had come. It was one of Reedpaw's favorite places in the territory, and he would have to remember to bring Swallowpaw here sometime.

"Crowpaw? Crowpaw, where are you?"

Reedpaw scrambled backwards into the forest, fluffy black fur sticking up in surprise as a wiry body of a WindClan warrior darted over the edge of a hill on the far side of the gorge. She was a strong cat, lean like all of WindClan and with dark gray fur. She stumbled to the edge of the gorge and wailed again, "_Crowpaw!_"

Crowpaw? Who was Crowpaw? Reedpaw had been to several Gatherings and he had never heard of an apprentice named Crowpaw before. And Whyw as this cat searching for him at moonhigh, when all apprentices worth their kill would be sleeping and warm in their nests back at camp? As if to answer his questions, a second WindClan warrior darted over the moors to meet with the she-cat. He was gray and tabby and lean, and his small ears were badly mangled. The she-cat turned to him and noticeably brightened.

"Crowpaw, there you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Somehow Reedpaw was sure that this battle-scarred warrior wasn't Crowpaw. But the warrior seemed to play along with it.

"Mother, I've been looking for you forever, where have you been?" said the warrior, gently steering her away from the gorge.

"I've been looking for _you_, you silly kit. Stand back, let me get a good look at you." The warrior reluctantly took a small step away from the she-cat, "Oh you're so _big_ now! You must be a warrior now, right?"

"Er… yes, Mother, my name is Crow… tail. Crowtail."

"Crowtail!" The she-cat was ecstatic, "Oh that's such a wonderful name, dear, it's a great name! Did you know that your father's name was Blacktail before he damaged his foot? Oh, if only he was around to see you: Blacktail and Crowtail, father and son! He would be so proud."

"Yes, Mother, he would be," the warrior glanced over his shoulder and shouted, "Tallstar, I've found her!"

A second warrior, Reedpaw felt his fur prickle when he recognized the long tail and the black-and-white pelt of the WindClan leader, raced over to join the other two, and the she-cat giggled as he neared.

"I told them, didn't I, Tallstar? I told them that my Crowpaw was still alive and I've found him and he's such a fine warrior now, Crowtail! Why didn't you tell me he had been made into a warrior? And he's so _handsome_, he looks just like Tornear, wouldn't you say?"

Tallstar looked uncomfortable as he glanced between Ashfoot and the gray tabby warrior, "Er, yes, Ashfoot, I'm sorry that I… hid Crowtail from you for all these moons. Could you give us a moment to speak together? I have something important I must discuss with him."

To Reedpaw's luck, they moved closer to the gorge and he strained his ears to hear their entire conversation.

"… Tornear, what is she doing here? And why is she calling you Crowtail?"

"She's been… having trouble, Tallstar. She sleepwalks sometimes and gets confused. I'm just… trying to get her back to the camp."

"By acting as her dead son? Tornear, you will _never _impersonate Crowpaw again. Next time she is out here wandering the moors at night, be her brother instead of her dead son and get her back to camp that way. I will not have you deceiving her."

Tornear lowered his head and murmured an apology to Tallstar, and then both cats returned to Ashfoot and vanished deeper into WindClan territory. Reedpaw tilted his head to one side and frowned. He wasn't quite sure what he had seen just now, and whether it was good news or bad news for RiverClan. He continued to watch the three cats as they grew smaller and smaller in the distance, and settled his muzzle on his paws, thinking.

"And _what_ are you doing, little apprentice?"

Reedpaw yowled as a heavy paw stepped down on his tail, and jumped to his paws to cower under Blackclaw's harsh eyes. The senior warrior wasn't his mentor, but he was supervising Reedpaw and Swallowpaw tonight, and it was always a bad idea to get him cranky. Blackclaw glanced over Reedpaw to the just-vanishing forms of the three WindClan cats and looked back down at Reedpaw.

"Spying on WindClan, are you?" he said and looked back to the WindClan territory, "If I had half a chance to attack them – or any of the other Clans, for that matter – I wouldn't hesitate to pounce at a sign of weakness. Come on, up. Your patrol is over, and I don't think Swallowpaw wants to know that you've been wasting your time napping instead of hunting like you are supposed to."

Without another word, Blackclaw turned and marched back through the forest. Reedpaw hesitated, glancing at the WindClan territory again, before following Blackclaw. He didn't know what to think about what Blackclaw just said, or about the insane mother in WindClan. Would that count as a sign of weakness? Or would Blackclaw just scoff at him and call him a little apprentice again?

Reedpaw paused when he saw something flicker in the bushes beside Blackclaw, and then he swore he saw two enormous green eyes, so wide they were ringed with white, staring at him through the bushes. But when he blinked all he saw was forest and ferns and he shook his head, then ran to catch up with Blackclaw. He was just imagining it, right? Eyes in the forest, a product of his imagination.

Along with that smell of burning fur.

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><p><strong>Dum ba-ba BUM! Reedpaw!<strong>

**Yes, good readers and reviewers, Reedpaw is going to be the final POV. So we have two in ThunderClan and one in RiverClan and... Well, that's about it.**

**So, for the next chapter, I know Glimmer will be excited about this, we have the return of Whitepaw and Cedarheart! The entire chapter is set aside for both of them, so rejoice, my little ducklings, and be prepared for the next chapter which... Well, I don't have a set release date, but it'll come eventually. After I beat Cid in FF13. GODDAMN IRRITATING BOSS. But, it was thanks to him I got frustrated with the game and decided to write... Well, review, find my little errors and I'm sure are everywhere in this, but I'll go over it later for the errors because I have to get home, and most of all, enjoy~**


	6. Chapter Five: Chance Encounters

**I FINALLY BEAT CID! Now I'm on by way to Oerba, all the while dying at every opportunity I have, it seems. But enough of my gamer talk. On we go to... Chapter Five: Chance Encounters! We are officially past the halfway mark, folks, and if anyone's dissapointed by a lack of fighting going on in this story, I can tell you that you will not be dissapointed for long. Not in the next chapter, but in the chapter after that, and the chapter after that. Jus' saying. Ah, and another side note, my parents have returned from their trip -.- Which means I will be harped into working on certain days and told I shouldn't stay up so late. But I won't let it bother me. I'm tougher than that. But I will need to refill my stores of pepsi... Ah, I'll play it by ear. So, as I said in the last chapter, here's an entire chapter of Whitepaw/Cedarheart, pretty much, with a little bit of Firestar at the end. **

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><p><strong>GlimmerIcewood: You'll find out who the Catalyst and the Causes are eventually... every POV is chosen for a reason, after all. And though I will touch on it in the next few chapters, yes, 'Crowtail' is Crowfeather. For this story I made Tornear and Ashfoot siblings (a), and (b) killed Crowfeather. Sleepwalking Ashfoot wants to find her son, so Tornear, on occasion, pretends to be Crowpaw in order to get her back to the camp.<strong>

**ADHD kid in jail: Yes, the colors DO have something to do with the story, but I'm not going to tell you what ) And you're excited, aren't you? Here's your update!**

**baileeYDG: Thank you! I try very hard :) Enjoy~**

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><p>Whitepaw thrashed her tail impatiently and peered over the rise again towards ShadowClan territory. It was late in the afternoon, and Whitepaw had been waiting there since sunhigh. Where was that stupid furball? Whitepaw shifted her eyes to the enormous rabbit she had caught herself that morning. She had spent the entire day tracking it, nose to the ground, and then had to try three times to catch it, finally wearing it out of energy by the Great Sycamore and getting her teeth into his neck. Dragging the rabbit to the thunderpath had been the hardest part so far. Now she would be lucky if she were going to find Cedarheart.<p>

Whitepaw tilted her head to one side again, thinking about the ShadowClan warrior. It had been yesterday when she stumbled back to camp, exhausted and the places behind her ears still caked with mud. A good night's rest had done wonders for her, though her legs were still a little sore, and before her father could find her she had stolen a couple of mice and snuck out of the camp by Cinderpelt's den. She giggled to herself, remembering hearing her father shouting for her as she ran off into the forest. Soon after that she had picked up the smell of the rabbit and begun tracking it.

And now… now Whitepaw was waiting. She wasn't sure that Cedarheart would have a patrol today, or if he would come by this border at all, let alone be alone. But it was worth a shot, and if worse came to worse, Whitepaw could take this back to camp and show it off to her father. Whitepaw still felt funny when she thought about Cedarheart, and she wasn't quite sure why. For a long time now she had had a crush on Spiderpaw, at least she thought she did, at least. Cedarheart was nothing like Spiderpaw though, he was… simpler. Less fiery. He talked fast and irritated Whitepaw. But he had saved Whitepaw's life, and Whitepaw needed to repay him for that.

Whitepaw craned her head over the rise again and raised her tail when she saw someone dark moving in and out of the bushes on the far side of the thunderpath. She crept up the rise and the figure froze, turning amber eyes towards her. Whitepaw felt a thrill rise in her chest – she knew those eyes! That was Cedarheart!

"Cedarheart!" she called, "Cedarheart, it's me, Whitepaw!"

Cedarheart stepped out of the bushes, and Whitepaw knew it was him. His fur was strangely dark in the sunlight, almost black, and he looked at Whitepaw with confusion and curiosity. Whitepaw scrambled back down the rise and dug her teeth into the rabbit, yanking it up the rise and onto the thunderpath. She caught a glimpse of Cedarheart, whose head was low to the thunderpath, and then began to drag the rabbit across as fast as she could. Cedarheart shouted something to her and she turned, dropping the rabbit.

"Whitepaw, get off the thunderpath!" Cedarheart bellowed. What was he talking about? There were no monst-

The ground began to rumble. Whitepaw looked up and felt her stomach drop. The lasrgest monster she had ever seen was barreling down the thunderpath to her, blood-red, maw open with silver teeth that touched the roof of it's mouth. She tried to move, but her paws were stuck to the thunderpath, and the rabbit, she had to save the rabbit, it was for-

_Whump!_

Cedarheart collided with Whitepaw, knocking her off her feet and sending her flying to the side. But it wasn't far enough, and Cedarheart bounded over to her again, grabbed her scruff with his teeth, and _threw_ her off the thunderpath, leaping off himself and rolling ears over tail beside her. Whitepaw crashed into a bush with a squeal and Cedarheart twisted, regaining his feet, and turned to Whitepaw, hissing and snarling.

"What were you thinking? You stupid apprentice, you could've gotten both of us-"

Cedarheart froze when he saw Whitepaw's ears shivering, and her green eyes wide. Her chest trembled, and her eyes moved slowly from the spot she had been standing on the thunderpath to him. Her mouth opened and closed slowly but no words came out. Cedarheart watched her carefully and then walked closer to her, placing his tail on her shoulder.

"Easy, Whitepaw. Easy. Breathe. Breathe nice and easy, kit…"

Whitepaw felt cold. Cold and brittle and as if she could shatter into a thousand pieces in any single moment. Was that what danger really was? Was that what it was like to almost die? She didn't know she was shaking. She didn't know that she wasn't breathing. Her head was swimming, her body was tight with adrenaline. It could have been all over for the both of them, it could have…

"Breathe, Whitepaw, nothing will change if you don't change yourself."

Cedarheart pressed his muzzle gently to the top of her head and sighed, and it was like warmth was trickling down her body from that one spot. She still shook, but she managed to take a hesitant, shaky breath and feel the tension in her shoulders and back. Her vision swam less as she breathed more, and Cedarheart continued to sit close to her, wrapping his tail around her smaller body and keeping his muzzle on her forehead. She began to feel her trembling and icy claws that made her shudder uncontrollably. But Cedarheart continued to murmur quiet, soft words to her, and Whitepaw felt the fear slowly melt away into exhaustion.

"Are you alright now?" Cedarheart whispered to her. Slowly, Whitepaw nodded. Cedarheart took his muzzle off her head but didn't move his tail from her flank. Where he touched her she felt hot, almost like she had a fever.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," Cedarheart sighed and looked away for a moment, "I was scared. I thought you might have gotten hurt."

Whitepaw gulped over the lump in her throat and managed to say: "Wh-why would it…"

"Why would it matter to me?" Cedarheart smiled slightly. His smile was small, and Whitepaw could see there was no happiness in it. Just sadness, "I suppose I'm just a… weak cat. I'd prefer not to fight or see anyone hurt, really. It… makes me sick, I guess you could say."

"But isn't that what being a warrior is?"

"Of course. We're all trained to fight after all, and hunt. But just because I was trained to do something doesn't mean I like it, right? After all, who likes killing? Isn't that what a warrior does?"

Whitepaw fell silent and lowered her head, pressing it against Cedarheart's shoulder. He stiffened for a moment, and then relaxed, and allowed her to stay there for a few moments, thinking about the words he said. Was that what being a warrior really was? Killing? What about defending your Clan, or protecting the ones you loved? But Whitepaw didn't have any right to think differently. All she knew was stories and legends and ideas. She had never been in battle. She had never fought another cat to the death. She opened her green eyes and saw a wicked scar across Cedarheart's chest that twisted down to his belly and shivered. When she became a warrior, she would get those scars as well. Scars were a warrior's pride, her father always said. But Whitepaw wasn't too sure of it.

"Are you feeling better?" Cedarheart asked, "I can't stay here all day, after all, and I'm sure one of your Clan's patrols is going to be coming along soon. They wouldn't be happy to know you tried to kill yourself on the thunderpath, only to be saved by a ShadowClan cat."

"I wasn't trying to kill myself!" Whitepaw lifted her head and pouted indignantly, "I was going to… my rabbit! Where's my rabbit?"

Cedarheart twisted and Whitepaw strained to look around him at the thunderpath. The rabbit was still in the center of the road, and Whitepaw shivered again when she thought of going out there and getting it. Cedarheart felt her shiver and tapped her with his tail lightly.

"Allow me, kit."

"_Apprentice._"

"Shrew. It's all the same to me. Sit tight, will you?"

Cedarheart crept up to the thunderpath again and pressed his ear to it. He sat still for several long moments until Whitepaw could feel the vibrations of a monster approaching, and after it had vanished, he pressed his ear to the rock again, then darted out and dragged the rabbit back to the ThunderClan side of the border. Miraculously, it was undamaged by any of the monsters, though there was a bit of black tar on the fur from where it had been sitting too long.

"There you are, it's a fine rabbit you caught," Cedarheart puffed. The rabbit was heavier than he expected. Whitepaw puffed out her chest and tilted her head up proudly.

"It's for you!"

Cedarheart glanced back at her, his eyes wide, and then shook his head and took a small step away from it, "I can't take this, Whitepaw."

Whitepaw felt as if he had just clawed out her heart, and her chest dropped. Desperately, she pushed the rabbit to him with her nose, "B-But I caught it just for you. I want to make up for… for the other day."

"Whitepaw, it is a very kind thing for you to do, but I cannot take this. You Clan will need this, giving it to me will be breaking the warrior code."

"But you _saved_ my _life_!"

"Oh I doubt that. Russetfur would probably just rough you up a bit and drag you back to the camp, then use you as an excuse to raid ThunderClan territory. You might've had to spend a couple days there-"

"But I got it for you!"

Cedarheart sighed a padded back over to Whitepaw, gently placing his muzzle on her forehead. The fright of the monster still hadn't quite worn off of her; she was still trembling, and her emotions were running wild. Her large green eyes were glassy when they looked up for him. She sniffed miserably and looked down again, "I hunted it all morning for you and when I caught it I thought… I thought you would be happy and I…"

"Whitepaw…" Cedarheart sighed, "It's kind of you to do this, really, but I can't bring a rabbit back to ShadowClan." Whitepaw looked up questioningly, "We don't have rabbits in ShadowClan. They never cross the thunderpath so if I were to return with one this large… they would think I was hunting in other Clan's territory."

"Oh." Whitepaw lowered her head again, "I see. I'm sorry."

There was a long silence between the two of them, not awkward, not tense, but calm and warm and gentle. Cedarheart rested his head on top of hers for a bit longer, waiting until he felt the last of the tremors die down from her body before he pulled away. Whitepaw smiled at him nervously.

"What were you doing before?" Whitepaw asked shyly, "Putting your ear to the thunderpath – what does that do?"

"Ah, allow me to show you. Come along, we're not getting close enough to the monsters to be hurt."

Cedarheart led Whitepaw up the rise to the thunderpath, and then pressed his ear to the rock. He smiled and motioned for her to do the same. Whitepaw bent awkwardly, pressing her ear to the hot stone. She sensed nothing at first, but then felt a low vibration coming from the stones, tickling the fur in her ears. She glanced over at Cedarheart, who smiled and pulled away, and Whitepaw followed him. Only moments later she could hear the roar of a monster in the distance, and within a minute it thundered by, spraying up nasty-smelling fumes and stirring the air.

Whitepaw coughed, "So _that's_ why ShadowClan is never hit by monsters!"

"Yes, though I suppose I shouldn't have showed it to you. It's a closely-guarded ShadowClan secret after all, along with the tunnel under the thunderpath and the catmint garden."

"Tunnel? Catmint garden?"

"Ah – I shouldn't have said that. Well, no harm in it now, I guess. I've already betrayed one Clan secret worth dying over."

Whitepaw tilted her head to one side, "Where's your pride as a warrior? Your loyalty to your Clan?"

"I guess I was never really born with it. Maybe I just find other things too interesting, and conversing with other cats brings out the worst of me. Ah, I'll probably go to the Dark Forest for this."

"Don't say that, that's a horrible thing to say!"

"I suppose," Cedarheart laughed, and then glanced at the rabbit again, "That is a fantastic rabbit. You really caught that yourself?"

"Yup!" Whitepaw puffed up her little chest and jumped to her paws, falling into her best hunting stance, "I tracked it all morning!"

Cedarheart laughed and Whitepaw looked up curious, "You hunted it like _that_?"

Whitepaw frowned, "What's wrong with my stance?"

"Almost everything. For example, if I do _this_," Cedarheart padded closer and his paw shot out, hooking one of Whitepaw's front legs and pulling it out from in front of her. Whitepaw squeaked and tumbled forward, "… you shouldn't do _that_."

Whitepaw scrambled back to her feet, fur on her tail fluffed up, "Show me how to stand, then!"

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Cedarheart sighed and rolled his eyes. He looked away, and then back at Whitepaw, and seeing her pouting, stubborn face, sighed again and wiggled his ears, "Alright, stand up and take that stance again."

Whitepaw brightened and scrambled into the position again. Cedarheart padded around her and watched her muscles carefully, and then touched one of her hind legs with his muzzle. Whitepaw felt her fur get warm and tingle where he breathed on her. She followed Cedarheart's instructions carefully, Cedarheart circling her quietly and watching her movements and touching her gently in places she needed to fix. Patches of Whitepaw's fur was tingling, and Whitepaw looked down shyly, pretending to be looking at the position of her legs. Cedarheart poked his nose under her jaw and drew it back upwards, facing him. Whitepaw's breath caught in her throat. Their noses were less than a breath apart. Cedarheart's warm amber eyes glowed like small moons against his dark, almost black, fur.

"Look forward, you're throwing off your balance," he said quietly. His breath washed over her face, his scent mixed in, causing Whitepaw's shoulders to go slack. Cedarheart's sharp eyes caught this and he circled around her, and touched her belly with his tail, "Keep your stomach tight, and your shoulders strong. You'll make less noise that way. And then your weight… yes, right there. That's good. Feel it? Feel the way your muscles are?"

Whitepaw nodded hesitantly and Cedarheart smiled, "Good."

And then he hooked another paw under her one of her back legs and knocked her off her feet again. Whitepaw scrambled up again, sneezing from the dust. She glared at Cedarheart, who was still smiling, "Now try to find the same pose."

They practiced for a long time, until Whitepaw finally collapsed in the dust and pouted at Cedarheart, who laughed and said that he really should be getting back to ShadowClan anyway. Just as he pressed his ear to the thunderpath, Whitepaw sprang to her paws and followed him. Cedarheart glanced at her, curious.

"Can I see you at the Gathering… just the two of us?" she asked.

Cedarheart looked at her for a long time, his amber eyes unreadable and face a mask. But then he smiled and shrugged, "I suppose I did tell you that was an option. But Russetfur won't like us talking, I'm supposed to be the star student, after all, and supposed to not like any other cats… How about we meet behind the oak closest to RiverClan territory?"

"Alright!"

Cedarheart smiled again, pressed his ear to the thunderpath, and made as if he were going to dash across it. But instead he flickered back, gave Whitepaw a quick lick on the ear, and bounded across, laughing. Whitepaw smiled as she watched him go, tilting her head to one side, it was different, having a friend in another Clan. But it was interesting. And fun.

She gave herself a thorough cleaning before grabbing the rabbit and dragging it back to camp, where she was met by Graystripe, just leaving with Dustpelt on a patrol.

"Oh, Whitepaw, Firestar wanted to speak with you. He was in his den a couple of moments ago. Did you catch that by yourself? The thing's nearly as large as you are!"

Whitepaw raised her head proudly and finished dragging the rabbit to the fresh-kill pile, then trotted off to Firestar's den. She called in tentatively, and when she heard an answering meow, padded in quietly. Firestar looked unusually small, and there were hollow circles beneath his eyes. He smiled slightly when Whitepaw came in.

"I've spoken to Whitestorm about your training with Cloudtail," he said. Whitepaw stiffened, her tail straightening out behind her, "And we've decided that he's not training you properly, perhaps because of… your mother's death. So tonight we will be holding an apprentice ceremony, and you will be transferred from Cloudtail's teachings to mine."

Whitepaw felt her heart leap in her chest, she was going to be Firestar's apprentice? Her legendary granduncle was going to teach her? This was better than any dream she could've had, any fantasy she'd ever thought up-

"I'm going to work you hard if you want to become a warrior before Snakekit and Icekit. From what I know, you're as incompetent as them."

Whitepaw flinched under his words. She hadn't realized that Firestar was… rather cold and rude. Her father had always said that Firestar was noble, strong, and gentle but… Maybe he just wasn't feeling well. Maybe he was… just tired. He had just come back from Highstones, after all. She flicked an ear nervously, thinking that he was trying to make a joke, but there was no humor in Firestar's eyes.

"Go then, I don't want to see you anymore." He said, turning away from him. Whitepaw lowered her head and backed out of the den quietly. She was sure that something was strange about Firestar, but she couldn't quite place what it was.

* * *

><p><strong>Shoobie soobop do-bop!<strong>

**So, now that we've got this Cedarheart/Whitepaw chapter out of the way, you're going to be wondering what's going to happen next, right? Well, I'll tell you: The Gathering! Sadly, Whitepaw won't be a central POV in the next chapter. Most of the next chapter will go to Reedpaw, but part of the beginning with be for Firestar. It should be a relatively short chapter, as I've noticed the chapters are... growing in length. the first chapter was only about five pages I believe, and the rest were seven until OOPS, i made one fourteen pages long. This one is ten. But I digress. Search for my errors, enjoy, and I'll get the next chapter out as soon as possible!**


	7. Chapter Six: Four to Lead

**There's being lazy, there's being lazy, and there's being lazy. Unfortunately for you, I've been a fourth: being REALLY lazy. It's Final Fantasy XIII! How can I refuse! Alright, maybe I can. I just have issues with leaving a game unplayed. Like Eternal Sonata. I don't even care if the story is shit. If the battles are good, count me in. So yes, that's what I've been doing. Luckily for you, this is a short chapter, and, well, things are beginning to fall into place :) Seriously. We have some big shit going to come down soon. Big, big shit.**

**So, anyways, as I said, the Gathering! Yay! Short chapter, again, only about 2,800 words or so, but hey, whatever. It'll have to do. A bit more action in the next chapter and -gasp- a new POV! Yes, I actually forgot about this last one. He's a side one, really, jsut for convience but... Yes, he's a POV. So I guess I lied. I do that a lot. /sigh**

**Someday I'll have to fix that.**

**ONWARD**

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><p><strong>ADHD kid in jail: Ah, in that case, I'll have to write faster for your curiosity to be stated, no?<strong>

**GlimmerIcewood: I know! I was trying to get that across. If this was a more a romance, I would have made it take longer for them to fall in love, and make it a little more natural but, meh, it's a short story, and it's not really about them, so we'll keep it moving ;)**

**baileeYDG: I like White/Cedar too! At least my Cedar... He's a bit snarky, and I've always wanted a snarky, happy-go-lucky cat instead of a snarky emo cat. Like Crowfeather. Or Jayfeather. I hate both of them.**

**tufted titmouse: Fifteen pages? Good grief. I looked down at my page count and was like 'oh CRAP! But I have so much more to do in this chapter!' I guess that's what you get when you plan a story out chapter by chapter... But whatever. One of these days I should just write a story without knowing what the hell is going to happen. That would be interesting. In fact...**

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><p>Firestar paused at the top of the ravine, looking down at the cats who were already there. RiverClan was nowhere to be seen, but Firestar could already see Tallstar and Blackstar atop the Great Rock, and Mudclaw and Russetfur talking to each other with another WindClan warrior. Cinderpelt drew up to his side and touched her tail lightly to his fur. Through it she could feel the hardness of his ribs beneath a thin sheet of muscle. Though Firestar had been eating and drinking regularly, he was growing thin, and his handsome face was becoming ragged and bony. Firestar did not glance at her as he usually did, nor did he look at Whitestorm and Graystripe when they drew up next to him, exchanging worried glances. It was too late to suggest to him to go back to camp and rest. Firestar knew that they had been thinking of it since the day before, where he spent the entire day in his den, thrashing in a fever dream and snapping at Whitepaw when she tried to help him.<p>

_I am their leader, they must listen to me_, Firestar growled to himself, and then flicked his tail, leading his Clan down the slope of the ravine and to Fourtrees. ThunderClan mingled with WindClan and ShadowClan, and Firestar brushed past apprentices and warriors on his way to the Great Rock with Cinderpelt and Whitestorm, both taking their places at the base of the rock while he bunched his leaned muscles and leapt to the top easily. Tallstar and Blackstar meowed greetings to him, their eyes troubled.

"We have much to speak about tonight," Firestar did not even greet them. He could see they were taken aback by his haggard appearance, "But we will wait until Leopardstar is here, we must discuss this together."

Tallstar nodded, "Blackstar and I have already spoken about the order we will speak tonight. With your permission, I would like to speak first."

"Go ahead," Firestar sniffed, "I may go last if you want then. But I will not talk about what is happening until Leopardstar comes."

It was several more minutes until RiverClan arrived in a blur, Leopardstar yowling her arrival. She did not waste any time talking to the warriors of any Clans, making a beeline straight for the Great Rock and leaping up next to Firestar, she nodded to Tallstar and Blackstar and then looked over at Firestar.

"Have you told then yet?"

"No, I was waiting for you." Leopardstar nodded and both she and Firestar turned back to the other two leaders. Firestar told the story of them finding the fish at Sunningrocks, and then Leopardstar took over telling them of their plan to go to Highstones directly after the Gathering with their Medicine Cats. Firestar watched the two leaders carefully, and noticed that both shifted uncomfortable.

"But it's not just happened to us," Firestar said quietly, "What has happened in your Clans?"

Tallstar lowered his eyes, "Barkface came across sage that smelled strange, and when she used it in one of her poultices, a sick kit died screaming riddles. Another night we came across a crow with six wings and seven eyes. I threw it in the gorge before any other cat could find it."

Blackstar shifted and looked away as well, "The number of rats at the carrionplace has increased, and many of them are growing tumors. Some are speckled white, and foam at the mouth. Others are rotting alive. A kit was born, killing his mother, without skin and speaking riddles, as it sounds your kit was, Tallstar, as soon as it came out. I had to kill it and bury it by the thunderpath to keep the Clan from knowing."

"So we are in agreement," Firestar said, "Something is happening to the forest. Will you come with Leopardstar and our Medicine Cats to Highstones tonight?"

Blackstar and Tallstar glanced at each other, and both of them nodded.

"We should not tell our warriors though," Tallstar said, "They will sense something is wrong but… better they stay ignorant to the nature of our worry."

"Very well," Firestar said, "Tallstar, you may begin the Gathering."

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><p>"That's Mudclaw, deputy of WindClan," Swallowpaw pointed to a cluster of powerful-looking warriors, "He's talking with Russetfur, who's ShadowClan's deputy, and that warrior next to him is Tornear, from WindClan. Those two are Tawnypelt and Brambleclaw, they're siblings, even though they're in different Clans, and that's Graystripe, he's Stormfur and Feathertail's father, remember?"<p>

"Who's that?" Reedpaw asked, pointing to a ragged-looking warrior near the Great Rock.

"That's Runningnose, the ShadowClan Medicine Cat. Next to him is his apprentice, Littlecloud, and next to him is Cinderpelt, the ThunderClan Medicine Cat. Now come on, let's go meet the other apprentices!"

Reedpaw shyly followed Swallowpaw, avoiding stepping on tails of other warriors as he passed. It was his first time at the Gathering, Swallowpaw's second, but she knew everyone by name, as if they were all in the same Clan. Reedpaw flinched when he accidentally bumped into a dark gray, almost black, ShadowClan warrior. But the warrior just flicked his ear and squeezed out of the way, his amber eyes glowing in amusement. Reedpaw scrambled after Swallowpaw, and almost collided with her with she stopped next to a couple smaller cats.

"Hi, everyone. This is Reedpaw, it's his first time at the Gathering."

"Reedpaw?" There were apprentices from all three other Clans here, and many of them were larger than Reedpaw. He nodded slowly to all of them and sat down a little behind Swallowpaw. Swallowpaw went around an introduced him to all of the other apprentices until she reached two sitting next to her, one from WindClan and the other from ThunderClan.

"This must be your first Gathering, like Reedpaw," Swallowpaw laughed, "I don't remember you, and I always remember a name and a face."

The ThunderClan apprentice, a small white she-cat with green eyes, smiled shyly, "I'm Whitepaw, you must be Swallowpaw."

"Your reputation precedes you," said the WindClan apprentice, a gold-and-brown tabby tom with yellow eyes, "I'm Eaglepaw, Mudclaw's apprentice."

"Mudclaw has an apprentice?" Swallowpaw laughed, "First I've heard of it. You must just barely be an apprentice then!"

"I was made an apprentice shortly after the last Gathering," Eaglepaw said.

"Oh, I see, that makes sense. Are you the brother of that-"

"We will begin the Gathering. Cats of all Clans, your attentions please!" Tallstar yowled from the top of the rock. The cats hushed each other, and a few of the more boisterous apprentices were batted at by their mentors. Mudclaw and Russetfur moved to the bottom of the Great Rock, where Mistyfoot and the ThunderClan deputy, Whitestorm, were waiting with the Medicine Cats. Swallowpaw bit off her question and all eyes turned to the long-tailed leader of WindClan.

"There will be an announcement at the end of this Gathering," Tallstar spoke loud and clearly, "But first we will proceed with the regular Gathering. One of our apprentices, Crowpaw, was killed shortly after the last Gathering, while disobeying orders and hunting in the territory of another Clan. We would like to formally apologize for this and plea that, in the future, apprentices to not meet such harsh penalties so soon after becoming apprentices."

His eyes flickered back to Leopardstar, who nodded her head and said, loud enough for the Clans to hear, "We apologize as well, Tallstar. We hope that your apprentice hunts long and free in StarClan."

There were a few murmurs and hisses among the cats of the Gathering, mostly RiverClan cats voicing their disapproval of Leopardstar apologizing. Leaders weren't supposed to do this at Gatherings, they were supposed to be _Leaders_, show the strength of their Clans, not their faults. What were both of these leaders doing? What were they planning?

Tallstar continued; "That being said, we have a new apprentice here with us tonight, the brother of the apprentice Crowpaw, Eaglepaw."

Reedpaw glanced over to Eaglepaw, who hunched his shoulders under the eyes of so many cats and bristled the fur on his shoulders. He glared at his paws and worked his long claws into the ground, tearing at the hard-packed dirt. But only Reedpaw noticed this, as Tallstar continued to talk about WindClan. Reedpaw watched Eaglepaw for a long time, his kneading paws and gritted teeth, and then felt a prickle run up his spine. He turned in time to see a small white body dart into one of the bushes surrounding Fourtrees, and the scent of ThunderClan and then, as he turned back to Swallowpaw, he saw the almost-black ShadowClan tom he had bumped into slip off into the bushes as well, not even saying where he was going to his friends. Reedpaw watched where he had gone for a long time, feeling a prickle run up his spine.

He didn't know why it was important, but he suddenly got to his feet and backed into the bushes as well, following Whitepaw's trail as she circled around the far side of the Great Rock, where less cats were and the ground dipped towards RiverClan territory. Reedpaw pressed himself flat to the ground as he hear the bushes nearby tremble as well, and a moment later the ShadowClan warrior pressed out of them, almost on top of Reedpaw, and passed by. Reedpaw's heart trembled, though he didn't know why. It was a Gathering, there was nothing to be afraid about. Nonetheless he crept forward as Whitepaw glanced around. The dark tom snuck up behind her expertly and stepped on her tail, and Whitepaw squeaked and jumped.

"Cedarheart!" she cried, and quickly bounded back to him, touching his nose with hers. Cedarheart laughed and cuffed her gently over the ear.

"How have you been in the day since I've last seen you?"

"Great! My mentor was reassigned, so Firestar's my mentor now!"

"Oh really? I remember Brambleclaw was his last apprentice, right? Who was your mentor before?"

"My father, Cloudtail."

"Really? It's strange to have a father as a mentor… I can't remember hearing about it in ShadowClan, at least."

"Snakepaw's mentor is Whitestorm, and Whitestorm is his father. Firestar gives weird mentors."

Cedarheart laughed, "Yes, I suppose he does."

Whitepaw grinned and craned her neck up to look at him. She was a particularly small cat, and Cedarheart was a very tall warrior, Reedpaw realized. But that still didn't answer his question: Why were they here? And why were they missing the Gathering just to talk?

"You know when you look at me like that, all I can see is the moonlight in your eyes. It's quite disconcerting, really," Cedarheart said. Whitepaw tilted her head to one side mischievously and Cedarheart laughed, "Yes, there we go, I can see your lovely green eyes now."

"You think my eyes are lovely?" Whitepaw said coyly.

"I think your eyes are very lovely. Green, like newleaf."

"Well, I think your eyes are 'lovely' as well."

"My eyes? My eyes are as yellow as yarrow and as lovely as a lunatic badger."

"Well _I_ like them, and that's all that counts." Whitepaw huffed.

"Oh does it?"

"Yep, and besides, you're eyes aren't _just_ yarrow-yellow-yucky, there's a little bit of green in them as well."

"Really, where?"

"Right… there!" Whitepaw poked Cedarheart just above on of his eyes with her paw. Cedarheart laughed and took a closer look at Whitepaw's eyes.

"Well I can see a little bit of yarrow-yellow-yucky in your eyes as well, right _here_!"

Cedarheart batted his tail in front of her eyes, blinding Whitepaw and then bounding off, laughing. Whitepaw sneezed from the kicked-up dust, but recovered and rushed after him, pouncing on his tail just as he jumped through a bracken bush. Cedarheart laughed, doubling back to bat Whitepaw a few times on the ears, and she responded by jumping on his back and biting his ear playfully.

Reedpaw sat back in his hiding place, thoroughly confused. Not at why the two cats were meeting here, but why they were so _open_. Reedpaw could see the subtly in their actions, the coy looks, the jokes and playfulness… But he didn't know why. His mother once told him that Blackclaw was one of the greatest assets to the Clan, and was his father, and often times he had seen the two of them interact. A brush of the tail, a quick glance and sharing tongues, all signs he had come to recognize with love. This… The methods weren't the same, nor the cats, but Reedpaw could see, _sense_, that these two cats were in love. Perhaps they didn't realize it at the moment, but they would, and then… then what would they do?

Love between clans was old and well-known and heavily frowned upon. Clan leaders would rather you mate with your own brother than mate outside of the Clan, even if that cat is a rogue or a loner or even in allegiance with your own Clan. Reedpaw's own mother was the product of a cross-clan relationship, and some cats still ridiculed her for it, as was Stormfur and Feathertail, and though they were very nice, other cats didn't quite like them very much. Their mother had died giving birth to them, and their story, no matter how you looked at it, was a tragedy. Forbidden love always ended in tragedy. So why did it keep happening? Reedpaw watched as Cedarheart, still laughing, pinned Whitepaw beneath him and licked the top of her head while she wiggled and giggled.

Blackclaw was his father, and his father deserved respect, even if he was a grumpy, irritable cat. He thought back to a few nights before, when his father stood beside him, looking out at the WindClan territory with a dark look in his eyes, stating that he wished that WindClan had a weakness, so that RiverClan could exploit it. The best way to protect a Clan, Blackclaw always said, was to strike first, and that idea governed all of his thoughts. Reedpaw placed his head on his paws, curling his tail closer to him. Would Ashfoot losing her mind count as a weakness? Reedpaw wasn't sure at the time. But forbidden love – surely that was a weakness, right? If he told his father that Whitepaw and Cedarheart were in love, he could help make the clan stronger by making the other Clans weaker. But when could this happen? Blackclaw could hardly march into the ThunderClan camp and declare that Whitepaw was breaking the warrior code. Reedpaw sighed quietly and continued to watch the two cats playing.

The two cats in love continued to play for a while longer, until all three of them heard a yowl that ended the Gathering. Whitepaw glanced back at Cedarheart, still a little breathless from their playfighting, and grinned, "Can we meet again? Tomorrow?"

"Perhaps not tomorrow," Cedarheart laughed, "Russetfur wants me for an early-morning patrol tomorrow, and will probably make me go hunting with Rowanclaw and Talonpaw. How about in three days, here, at sunhigh?"

"Sounds great!" Whitepaw bounced over to Cedarheart and touched noses with him again, "I'll see you then, Cedarheart!"

Reedpaw waited until both had gone, and then followed them up the slope around the Great Rock and slipped back in next to Swallowpaw, who was chatting excitedly with his sister, Ashpaw. She turned when Reedpaw came up to her, smiling sheepishly.

"Where have you been?" Swallowpaw demanded, "Never mind, did you hear what the leaders are going to do?"

Reedpaw flicked an ear shyly and said no, and Swallowpaw rolled her eyes, "They're going to the moonstone, all of them! Blackclaw says he can't remember a time when all four leaders and their medicine cats have gone to the moonstone together, and they won't tell us why! Blackclaw says it must have something to do with the fish dying in the river, but I think that-"

"Enough with your theories," Mistyfoot laughed when she walked over and touched Ashpaw and Reedpaw on the top of the head affectionately, "Come on, we're leaving now and you don't want to fall behind."

"Mother?" Reedpaw trotted after Mistyfoot, keeping pace with her as she led the Clan down the ravine and towards RiverClan territory, "I have something I need to tell you, something I saw."

"Of course, Reedpaw, talk to me while we walk."

"Well, I noticed that a ThunderClan apprentice, Whitepaw, and a ShadowClan warrior, Cedarheart, both left the Gathering as soon as the leaders started to speak, so I followed them…"

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><p><strong>Dah-dah!<strong>

**I threw in a little more White/Cedar, just to entertain myself and flesh out the chapter a little more. So, nothing different than usual: find my errors, review 'cause I love reviews, and enjoy! The next chapter is going to be back at moonstone and remember: new POV that I forgot about. I KNEW I had four, I just couldn't remember which was the fourth...**


	8. Chapter Seven: The Shadow

**I'm back! Just like a bad fungal infection! And I present to you the next chapter, which I very much like and enjoyed writing (as opposed to the last chapter, which was a pain in the ass), which is entitled Chapter Seven: The Shadow. Why? Well, you'll find out. The new POV is in the latter half of the chapter and will probably not surprise you, knowing that the only characters in this chapter is really the leaders and the medicine cats. But I digress. **

**I just spent nine hours at work yesterday, so my plans for posting this earlier were effectively squashed. But I managed to finish it, and here we go, the next chapter which I know you will love~**

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><p><strong>GlimmerIcewood: I have to warn you? Hahahahaha, alright then. More CedarWhite is in the future. Lotsa more-a :)**

**ADHD kid in jail: I try to make the chapters the best quality as possible, which is hard when it comes along with speed. But I favor quality over that, just so you know :) But I really don't like to leave a story un-updated for a week or longer. I just feel like I'm letting people down :(**

**SharpWhisper: Thanks!**

**tufted titmouse: Nothing goes well in my stories :)**

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><p>"Firestar, I need to talk to you," Cinderpelt hissed to him. Firestar stepped back from leading the other cats and fell to the back alongside her, where they could talk in peace. They were almost to the Mothermouth now, after a tense few moments at the thunderpath, and the eight cats had grown increasingly silent as they walked. Leaders whispered with their medicine cats, so Cinderpelt wanting to speak to Firestar alone was nothing new. Cinderpelt hissed quietly to Firestar:<p>

"Firestar, what if _she's_ there? What if it… it's like last time?"

Firestar shrugged and increased his pace, ignoring her question. He had thought of it himself, but he didn't know what to think about it. Burntfur was getting more and more lifelike the more he saw her. Since he had seen StarClan burn last time at the Moonstone, he had had no more dreams from his ancestors, and wasn't worried about it either. Firestar frowned as they entered the Mothermouth together, letting himself be swallowed by the darkness. It was strange how he wasn't worried, but if he wasn't worried, he guessed that it wasn't a problem, right? Burntfur had never hurt him, never hurt his Clan. She showed him things, she wasn't the cause, like how Cinderpelt probably thought. No… Burntfur was innocent. Firestar was sure.

As he walked and felt the stone brush his whiskers, he thought back to Cloudtail, still sleeping in Cinderpelt's den. Everytime he had woke he had been irate, and so Firestar had ordered Dovepaw and Cinderpelt to keep him sedated at all costs. Cinderpelt had mixed saturated moss with poppy seeds and dribbled it into his mouth as he began to come around, putting him to sleep again and keeping him hydrated. But Cloudtail was growing thin, and Cinderpelt insisted he be allowed to be awake so that he and Whitepaw could talk to each other. Firestar had refused. He still had to decide what to do with Cloudtail. He had no proof that Cloudtail was the Broken Heart but… who else could it be? Perhaps Burntfur would know.

The Moonstone was shining but the time the leaders and medicine cats reached it, and they silently circled the stone until they were evenly spaced apart, lay down, and pressed their noses to the stone. Firestar glanced up to the Moonstone as he knelt, and just as he felt his eyes grown heavy, he swore he could see the flicker of darkness in that white stone, a little like a cat, and a little like fire.

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><p>Firestar wasn't surprised when he saw the embers and ash dancing on the wind. He heard Blackstar on his left take a sharp breath in, and Mudfur on his right whimper as a bough crashed from a nearby tree. Cinderpelt just pressed herself closer to Firestar, close enough so that he could feel her trembling. But Firestar stared into the fires, into the ash and blazing walls and then up into the smoke-choked sky. Tallstar shouted to the others:<p>

"This way, there's an unburned area here!" He and Barkface turned and ran through a tunnel of fire, the other leaders and medicine cats running after him, but Firestar felt himself walking, looking into the fires and searching for her. She was here, it was obvious. He exited the fire into a smoking, charred field split and sundered, ash-black ground cracked with bloody red fire. The other leaders and medicine cats shouted for their ancestors, shouted for their mentors, their passed-away friends and relatives. But the forest was silent besides the roaring fire, the flame behemoth.

The other leaders were shouting to each other over the fire, trying not to look at the inferno, pretending as if it weren't there. But Firestar could see them twitch when a branch fell, or wince when another tree exploded and the ground moaned in pain. He turned to the forest and the fire and closed his eyes, breathing in the fire and ash and hot air and the wind that whirled around him. And he caught the scent of burning fur in there as well. He opened his eyes and saw Cinderpelt staring at him with her large blue eyes. She shook her head, but Firestar turned away, looking into the forest, and whispered a call:

"_Burntfur_."

A yowl broke through the roar of the fire, and all eyes turned to a section of the forest where it had come from. A ghostly cat burst from the fire, screeching, batting his burning fur to put out the fire burning along his spine. He tripped and fell as the ground snarled and jerked upwards, splitting the ground again. And then Burntfur was there, pinning him down, her mouth crusted with silver-red, she held the cat down and then turned to the leaders and medicine cats.

Her eyes were smaller today, more relaxed. He couldn't see the whites around her eyes any more, and she blinked normally. Her fur was more solid, he could see only the faintest movement of the flames through her body. He noticed that her chest rose and fell as well, as if she were exhausted and panting. But her calm face did not seem to be tired. He cat in her claws wriggled and screamed, slashing at Burntfur, but her claws just passed through her, and the StarClan cats screeched louder. Firestar felt bile rise in his throat when he saw that the dead cat's feet were smoking and burnt. Burntfut did not deign to glance at the three other leaders or the four Medicine Cats. Her eyes were always on Firestar, even as she lowered her head and tore out the throat of the StarClan cat, silver-red blood gushing onto her jaws and dripping down her chest.

"I knew you would come, Firestar," She said quietly, stepping over the still body of the StarClan cat. Leopardstar let out a wail when she saw the cat and started to him, but another burst of fire pushed her back. She looked from Burntfur to the still cat and then to Firestar. Her eyes were large and filled with fear and hate.

"What is she talking about, Firestar?" Snarled Tallstar, his long tail lashing, "She knew you would come? Who is she?"

Firestar's mouth moved up and down but he couldn't find it in him to say anything. Who was Burntfur, really? And why did she keep coming to him? Firestar had not the faintest idea but… But the fires…

"All four leaders are here," Burntfur finally turned her large green eyes to the other cats, "And the Medicine Cats as well. The Four to Lead and the Four to Heal. All that's left are the Four to Change and the Four to Kill. But you don't know those yet either, do you, Firestar?" Burntfur laughed but it sounded pained and fake. Her large green eyes scanned the four leaders and four medicine cats again.

"You came to StarClan looking for answers. You can see the world changing around you, morphing, mutating, knowing that there is a bubble ripe for the bursting and anticipating its explosion. You can feel it in your bones, that you stand at the crossroads. Change is coming. Nothing will be as it was before. Will it be the end of the Four Clans, or the beginning of their greatest era? StarClan does not know, they do not even know who the ones to bring the change will be. Who is the Catalyst? Who is the Falling Bird, the Blind Eye, the Broken Heart? Who are the Four who will change the world, and Who are the Four that will die for its birth? You came to StarClan, but they do not know. They are burning now, and fanning the flames of change. Violent, beautiful change."

Burntfur turned back to the blazing forest, her eyes widening until you could see the whites around them once more, "Beautiful, beautiful change. And it's because you want it, Firestar." Burntfur turned back around and faced the leaders, her eyes fixed on Firestar, "I am here because of you, Firestar. I am here for you. I am here to bring into reality what you want and this," Burntfur laughed painfully again and swept around. The flames seemed to scream and explode as blackened trees shattered as if struck by lightning, "_This_ is what you want, Firestar. And I'll give it to you – the destruction of StarClan, the forefront of the Change!"

"No!" wailed Barkface stumbling and falling as if the strength had suddenly felt him. Tallstar knelt beside the elderly medicine cat, helping him to his feet again, and Barkface threw back his head, wailing, "_NO!"_

"Is she telling the truth, Firestar?" Snarled Blackstar, leaping to his feet, "Is she? Are you really here to destroy the forest now that you've saved it?"

Firestar turned to face the three other leaders and their medicine cats. His eyes were so wide that the whites could be seen around them. The look on his face was unreadable. Cinderpelt took a tentative step away from Firestar, her blue eyes wide as well, but filled with tears and fear. Firestar looked at him. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it. Burntfur stepped in front of Firestar, so close that the smell of her burned pelt was overwhelming. Firestar looked at her and blinked slowly and then, finally, asked the one question that he always meant to ask her:

"Who are you?"

Burntfur smiled and leaned up to touch her nose to his. Her nose was flaming hot, like fire. Or hatred.

"I am you," she whispered to Firestar. The stubs of her burnt-off whiskers brushed his, "I am your rage. I am your hatred. I am the darkness in your heart that was born the moment the claw fell on your life. On your precious Sandstorm. I am your desire for a different world. I am your desire for death. I am your desire to tear this world down and create one that is just and fair. I am the Shadow cast by the darkness that clouds the Fire in your heart, my Firestar, brought to life by the Change that is taking the forest."

Firestar stared at Burntfur for a long time, not blinking. Behind her the fires raged and the other Clan leaders and medicine cats screamed as burning trees fell around them, penning them in and keeping them away from Firestar and Burntfur and Cinderpelt. The roar of the fire should have been deafening, but Firestar could not hear it over the pounding blood in his ears and the roar in his heart as he looked at Burntfur and knew what she said was truth.

"You are my Shadow," whispered Firestar. Burntfur closed her eyes and nodded.

"I am your Shadow. I know your Darkness."

"Then be my Shadow," Firestar hissed, "_Protect me_."

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><p>Firestar lifted his eyes slowly, and then his head and his body. His body was strangely light and his head was strangely heavy. But he lifted his eyes to the Moonstone and smiled when he saw the once-white rock was clouded smoke-dark. He felt his paws lead him to the cat besides him and almost stumble over the old cat. Firestar glared down at Mudfur, who twitched and mewled pitifully in his sleep, as if he were dreaming of being on fire. And, as if lifted by another, he brought his claws down on Mudfur's neck, and pressed him into the ground. It took only a minute, Mudfur offered only a weak defense as he struggled, sputtered, and struggled for breath. Firestar moved away when he finally was still. Beyond him was Cinderpelt, who was just raising her eyes sleepily.<p>

"Let's go," Firestar said. He stepped over Mudfur and guided Cinderpelt out of the chamber, not giving her time to look at Mudfur's not-breathing body or the clouds in the Moonstone. She was dazed, it seemed, looking from Firestar to the darkness in confusion. Somehow Firestar knew she would be like this for a while longer, and walk faster, helping them get away from the Moonstone as fast as possible.

As they stumbled across the thunderpath, Cinderpelt turned her dazed eyes up to Firestar and blinked slowly. Her voice was slurred when she spoke, and she leaned heavily against Firestar.

"Is… Is that was you wanted…?" she asked him. Firestar said nothing, but answered her in his head.

_Yes. Yes it is._

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><p>"I'll kill him! I'll rip out his entrails and let the crows eat them while he's still alive, I'll claw out his eyes and feed them to the fish and drown him! I'll-"<p>

"Please, Leopardstar," Tallstar said quietly, "It is early, and I am tired. I do not want my dreams to be darkened any more tonight."

Three leaders and two medicine cats sat in Tallstar's den. The sun was beginning to rise over the horizon, peeking pink light into the cleft of the rock where Tallstar slept. All of the cats had puffy eyes and an exhausted aura around them, but none was stronger than Leopardstar's. And who could blame her? After being burned to death in a dream, she wakes to find her beloved medicine cat smothered to death, and Firestar and Cinderpelt vanished, their scents already stale. Tallstar had brought the rest of the cats to WindClan to rest and feed before they returned to their homes, and had allowed Mudfur to be buried in WindClan territory.

"If any cats from RiverClan wish to sit a silent vigil for him," Tallstar had told her, "I will alert my warriors, and tell them to lead them to the place he is buried, and then let them return peacefully the next day."

Leopardstar had nodded and collapsed in Tallstar's den as soon as she could, sleeping hard until Barkface tentatively awakened her with some prey he caught. Blackstar kept a stony face, and spoke tersely with Littlecloud, finally telling Leopardstar that, if Runningnose agreed to it, he could live and train a Medicine Cat in RiverClan for Leopardstar. Leopardstar grudgingly agreed to it, and as soon as her strength returned, swore revenge on Firestar.

"We must decide when to attack," Leopardstar hissed, "Firestar is insane, he's no longer the leader that he was. He must be stripped of his power so that he is no longer a threat to the forest."

"I agree," Blackstar nodded, "He is dangerous now. He has the power of ThunderClan behind him and the darkness of that she-cat driving him insane. He must be stopped, and I am willing to join my strength to destroy him."

"What of you, Tallstar?" Leopardstar demanded. Tallstar sighed and bowed his head. It was hard enough seeing his beloved StarClan in flames, and darkness clouding the moonstone. Now he was to gather his warriors and invade ThunderClan, the Clan that had saved him so many moons ago? He was an old cat, his leadership now based on wisdom rather than strength. Should he leave and go into battle, with this last life of his…

"I will think on it," Tallstar said, "I will sleep on it. When I come to my decision, I will send a messenger to both of your Clans. Until then, I cannot answer.'

Leopardstar sniffed, "Then I will return to RiverClan now, and make my preparations. Blackstar, are we in this together?"

"Of course, Leopardstar."

"Then I will send messengers to you, and we will organize the attack."

"Mudclaw," Tallstar called out to his deputy, who came stalking in, clearly unhappy about the two other Clan leaders and another Clan medicine cat in his leader's den alone, "Gather Onewhisker and two more warriors. Escort Blackstar to the ShadowClan border, and have Onewhisker escort Leopardstar to the RiverClan border. Post a guard at the entrance of my den, I wish to be alone."

Mudclaw nodded and led Leopardstar, Littlecloud, and Blackstar out of his den. Barkface sat behind for a little longer, looking at his paws sadly. Tallstar touched his long tail to the medicine cat's shoulder. Barkface was nearly as old and he, and they had been friends for a long, long time. He had known Mudfur better than Tallstar, and his sadness showed in the stoop of his shoulder and the bow of his head. Barkface waited there for a few moments longer and then thanked Tallstar, and left to let him rest, dragging his brown tail on the ground.

Tallstar slept fitfully, waking frequently but never quite strong enough to fight off sleep again. His dreams were filled with smoke and fire and that dark, translucent she-cat with green eyes. When he finally awoke and felt rested it was sunset, and Tallstar's belly grumbled unhappily. Whitetail nodded to him when he exited and he let her go off to Onewhisker and share tongues with him. He helped himself to an infant rabbit someone had brought back and visited Barkface, who was treating a thorn in Mudclaw's paw, before Tornear came up to him, panting.

"Tallstar, Ashfoot is missing again." He whispered to his leader. Tallstar sighed and turned to the entrance of the camp, signaling for Tornear to follow him with his tail. Her scent was fresh and heading towards Fourtrees, and was easy to track. Tallstar and Tornear walked in silence while they tracked her, until Tornear finally sighed loudly and Tallstar glanced over to him.

"Tired, Tornear?" he asked quietly. Tornear flicked an ear in embaressment.

"I was up early for a border patrol," he admitted, "And Mudclaw had me out hunting most of the day with Whitetail. Just when I thought I could rest…" He sighed again.

"She hasn't gone far," Tallstar said, "We'll catch up to her soon. Tell me, how long have you been… hiding this?"

"Ever since Crowpaw was killed," Tornear murmured, "She… she lost track of time first. And then she stopped recognizing Eaglepaw. I took her out hunting most days and she would always miss her prey and… soon she was getting lost, getting confused and… It just happened so fast…"

"Don't worry," Tallstar reassured him, "We will retire her to the elders, and I will make sure that the Clan knows not to let her out of the camp without supervision. You've tried your best, Tornear, but sometimes nothing can heal and broken heart."

The found Ashfoot a good distance further than Tallstar has expected, obviously overestimating her abilities as a warrior though her brain was becoming elder. Tornear managed to coax her back to the camp without saying that his name was Crowtail, which Tallstar was relieved about, and torn Tornear to have Barkface give her poppy seeds to rest the rest of the night.

Tallstar left the siblings after that, walking quietly along the border with RiverClan, his head tilted up towards the black sky now speckled with stars. He was an old cat, with the need of a young cat's body and one final life to serve him as he gave his service to his clan. Rats, infection, disease, and blood had all killed him many times, and each time he felt had left him stronger than the last. But perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps he had really been deluding himself, tricking his mind into believing that his body was just as strong as it used to be. But Tallstar knew now it wasn't. He had carefully compared himself to his strongest warriors, seen that the muscles on his frame were thinner and weaker than that of theirs, that when he led patrols, he grew tired faster than he used to. His hadn't caught a find hare in moons. Tallstar sighed and sat back, tilting his silvering head to the silverpelt.

"You gave me WindClan," he murmured to them, "You led Firestar and Graystripe to us and brought us back home. You gave us back my Clan. I cannot let him destroy you, after you have given me so much."

Tallstar lowered his head, "But Firestar has given me so much as well. Friendship, courage, he has always come in times of need. He is a friend of WindClan," then, remembering what Blackstar had said, "He… was a friend of WindClan."

He sighed and felt his eyes burning with tears, but lifted his head proudly to stare at the every-watching silverpelt, "You are kind, StarClan, but you are also cruel. You separate us to make us strong and individual, but you weaken us by driving us against each other. How could you not see this? How could you not warn us that change of some type was coming to the forest?"

Tallstar lowered his head and closed his eyes. Ashfoot was a brave, strong cat. She could have been deputy, even leader if he had had the sense to name her instead of Mudclaw. But what was done was done. The future of his Clan would be in Mudclaw's paws if anything were to happen to him. But the thought made Tallstar uneasy, and he shifted uncomfortably. Mudclaw was a brave, strong warrior as well, but he was arrogant, and irrational at times. He would fight rather than negotiate. Something told Tallstar that in the coming months, perhaps that would not be a good thing. But he could not just demote Mudclaw without reason. He would have to wait until something happened to the deputy, or unless he was on his deathbed. Tallstar frowned again and looked back up to the sky.

"WindClan will have no part in this." He said strongly against the stars who beat him with their gentle light, "We do not have the strength now that Ashfoot has retired. The summer has been hard and dry. The kits far more scare and dying fast. We are not strong enough. We will not participate."

There was a faint flicker of black movement in the bushes of RiverClan, and Tallstar turned half-heartedly to see a little black shape scurrying away. He did not know who it was, nor did he even care if it was Burntfur. It was out of his paws. WindClan would take no part.

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><p><strong>NO!<strong>

**YES!**

**NO!**

**YES!**

**NO!**

**YEEEEESSSSS!**

**I KILLED MUDFUR!**

**... Is it strange that I'm happy about that? Whatever. It wasn't meant to happen, honestly, it just kind of... did. I don't hold anything against Mudfur, but the story told me he needed to die... so he did. I guess that's about all there is to it.**

**So, before I am killed for that, I want to get out info on the next chapter! The next chapter will have Reedpaw and Burntfur and Firestar in it, and will be about them going on a picnic and having fun and froliking together. Or not. the chapter after that, Glimmer will be happy to know, is entirely from Whitepaw's POV and, of course, will have Cedarheart in it. I don't know what else to say, really, but that this story is coming to an end very quickly. I haven't started writing the story of Brokenstar's Elite yet, and I'm poking around another tentative idea, but more on that later. Review, and search for my errors, please!**


	9. Chapter Eight: Grief

**Alright, I lied. There are no picnics in this. Nor is there any froliking. I lie a lot, have any of you noticed? Well, if you can believe it, we have only two more chapters left in this story before I move on and do something different. What that different is going to be, I don't know. I've tried pushing around the story of Brokenstar's Elite, but it's not going anywhere anytime fast, so I'm going to rethink it and, well, do something else in the mean time. I don't quite know what that will be, but we'll find out... Eventually.**

**Oh, another thing I lied about: This story isn't going to be eleven chapters long. It's going to be twelve. I miscounted, and kept getting confused, but it's all settled now. There's twelve chapters including the prologue, so you have one more chapter than you thought you were going to have, yay!**

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><p><strong>tifted titmouse: Nothing good ever happens in this story, I've decided. :)<strong>

**GlimmerIcewood: Why thank you! And, by the way, there will be a LOT of Cedar/White in teh next chapter, so be happy!**

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><p>"<em>ThunderClan leaders are cursed. First Bluestar went crazy, and now Firestar? What is StarClan punishing us for? What have we done?"<em>

Firestar could hear the whispers even though he was in his den, snarling in his feverish sleep and raking his claws across his nest. He had shared this nest with Sandstorm before the battle with BloodClan, he had watched the moonlight over her fur, and the way her sweet green eyes had fluttered when she looked up to him and told him that she loved him. Firestar hissed when Cinderpelt entered the den with poppy seeds, sending her out. He had seen Whitestorm's troubled face from the entrance of his den, and the way he and Cinderpelt had whispered together. Plotting to hide his weakness. Plotting to take the Clan from him.

"They will not have it," hissed Firestar hotly. His body was on fire, sweat and foam dappled his fur and slicked it dark as shadow. His green eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of his den, "ThunderClan is _mine_, and I will not let them take it from me."

Cinderpelt was telling the other cats that Firestar had eaten bad food, and merely needed to recover from it. How did he know that? He could feel her mind beating against him, like a second heart beating in time with his own. He could hear what she heard, feel what she felt. The wind, the sun, the darkness and rage. From that mere touch on the nose, the final connection that they needed to become one, Fire and Shadow had been brought together, brought to be one soul in two bodies. It was painful, maddening, and strangely blissful. Firestar laughed when he thought of how he was before Burntfur had been born from his grief, how simple the world had been and how simply he had seen it. But this, _this_ was seeing the world. This fire that raced through his blood and made him weak and powerful at the same time, smelling the air twice over steaming lungs, seeing it through boiling eyes. There was no better way to see the world. No other way to truly see it.

At some time Whitestorm entered the den and sat next to him, his blue eyes quiet and his shoulders stooped. He really was an old cat, Firestar realized as he opened his eyes and sat up, "What is it, Whitestorm?"

"I wanted to tell you I am resigning as deputy," Whitestorm said steadily, "I should not be teaching Snakepaw either. Give Snakepaw to Brambleclaw and choose a new deputy, I will have nothing more to do as deputy."

"Whitestorm-"

"No." Whitestorm's eyes were hard, "I will take no other option. I will retire, and you cannot keep me as deputy."

"Fine!" Firestar spat, thinking rapidly. Who would replaced Whitestorm? Who could replace Whitestorm? He finally growled and said, "Tell Graystripe that he's the deputy now. There won't be a ceremony for you or he, before you ask, I am through with the ceremonies of StarClan. Now leave me in peace, you coward."

Whitestorm's mouth tightened when he stared at Firestar, but he said nothing, and quietly stood and left the room. Graystripe tried to enter later, but Firestar snarled so loudly and coldly that he backed away as fast as he could, and did not return. Firestar lay for a longer time in his feverish sleep, something wailing, sometimes laughing to himself.

"Where the light is strongest, the shadows are deepest," Firestar laughed and panted to himself. He dragged himself up, his body was light but his legs were weak and made of sand. He shouted for something, but the words couldn't seem to form correctly in his mouth, and outside he felt his other body sense the fear that rippled through the camp when he bellowed. He threw back his head and laughed, and then staggered upright, screaming for her.

"I am here, my Light," Burntfur said quietly when she appeared in front of him. She seemed to have stepped from the very stone itself, though she appeared to be as lifelike as ever. Calm, gentle green eyes. Wide and enormous, but no longer ringed with white. Her fur was smoke-gray, her body slim and wiry and ears small and neat. Her breathing was silent. Her eyes were made to look only at Firestar. She was made only to obey Firestar. Firestar laughed again and felt his haunches give beneath him, and he fell to clumsy seat. He watched Burntfur for a long time beneath hooded, sweat-ringed eyes, and she stared back at him quietly. Her eyes blinking slowly.

"You are my Shadow," Firestar panted.

"Yes," she answered quietly, "I am your Shadow. I will protect you."

"I know the other leaders will be moving against me soon. You have heard this."

"I have."

"Do you know their plans?"

"Some. RiverClan and ShadowClan will join against you. WindClan will take no part in either side.

"I see." Firestar closed his eyes, his breath coming in rapid, short huffs, as if it were an effort just to stay upright, "Burntfur, why are you mine?"

"Because you are the brightest heart, my Light, the warmth and fire of your heart was enough to draw others to you, to help you light the way for the Clans. No one would know what would happen afterwards, nor what would happen if that light that protected so many would be blocked. The shadows are deepest where the light is strongest, and your Shadow came to life after it felt the Change coming. The Change that gave your Shadow the ability to move and speak, to become a part of you and show you what she has seen from the Change."

Firestar closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground again. Burntfur made no move to help him. After a few long minutes Firestar opened his eyes again. Burntfur still stood there, her green eyes made only to look at him.

"It was the Catalyst who brought you to life." He said finally.

Burntfur closed her eyes and did not look at him, "Yes."

"Then you know who he is? And the others as well?"

Burntfur opened her eyes slightly and lowered her muzzle, "Yes. I do."

Firestar stared at Burntfur, then snorted and looked away, "Then let them change the world. I'd rather die than know that this world will continue as it was. This world is cruel, Burntfur, cruel and unjust."

"Yes." Was all Burntfur said.

"This world must be rebuilt. Must be torn down and re-sculpted from the ashes."

"Yes."

"Then I will make it so." Firestar stood again, feeling stronger, less feverish. He stared at Burntfur for a long time and then said: "Go to RiverClan and ShadowClan. Be seen by them. Let them know that it was I who sent you. Kill Leopardstar. Kill Blackstar."

Burntfur nodded slowly, her green eyes meeting Firestar's.

"As you command."

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><p>Reedpaw raised his head, what was this tingling going down his spine? He stood, his legs itching suddenly with the desire to move, and took a few steps forward. The world was so gloomy outside of the camp, the water was so still and quiet tonight…<p>

Blackclaw said that one of the reasons RiverClan chose to have their camp on the island was to keep it protected, any attack on the camp would be noticed because of the splashes that paws would make in the shallow water, coupled with sharp stones that generations of warriors had arranged just beneath the surface of the muddy, sandy bottom. And it was because of this that Reedpaw felt safe in the RiverClan camp, safer than in any other part of the forest. But… but this feeling…

Reedpaw walked further out of the camp, to the raised bit of land that connected the island with the shore. This part was still slightly under water, but one of the few places that there were no sharp rocks. Reedpaw stood paw-deep in the water, watching the darkness carefully. The faint outlines of the reeds and forest were visible to him, and every small movement made his eyes flicker and his belly twinge. He knew in his gut that something was out there but he _didn't know what it was_. Behind him he heard the soft footfalls of the other warrior on guard that night, Stormfur, the cat with a father in ThunderClan. The attitude towards him had been harsher since Leopardstar returned with word that Firestar was seeking to destroy StarClan, but Reedpaw didn't quite understand why. Stormfur had always been a loyal warrior, after all.

"Do you see anything?" he asked, walking up behind Reedpaw and lifting his nose to scent the air. Reedpaw didn't answer, his concentration fixed on the forest. But finally the apprentice shook his head and turned back to the older warrior.

"I thought I did, but I must've just been imagining things."

"I see." Stormfur murmured, staring out to the forest. What was he thinking? Did he think that ThunderClan would attack tonight, and that he would have to fight his father? Reedpaw thought that was the case and sniffed to himself. Stormfur probably didn't have the guts to fight his own father, as loyal as he was to RiverClan. Stormfur glanced down at Reedpaw, sensing his distaste, and then glanced back into the distance.

"I'm thinking of taking a mate." Stormfur said suddenly. Reedpaw jerked back and stared at Stormfur, but the big tom didn't look at him, his eyes fixed on the distance. There was a long silence and Stormfur said: "Leopardstar and Mistyfoot suggested it to Feathertail and I. To… to prove our loyalty to RiverClan. They told us who to mate with as well. Feathertail's supposed to mate with Heavystep and I'm… I'm supposed to mate with Swallowpaw when she becomes a warrior. You're friends with Swallowpaw, right? Is she a good cat?"

Reedpaw stared at Stormfur for a long time and finally said, quietly, "She's the best cat I know."

"I hoped so," Stormfur sighed, "I just… I knew that you and she…"

"It was nothing," Reedpaw said brusquely, continuing back to the camp, "Just a kitten crush. Nothing."

"Reedpaw, wait-"

But Reedpaw had closed his ears and squeezed his eyes shut, blocking any words that Stormfur was going to try and say to him. In his chest his heart felt like it was being dried to a raisin, his eyes burned like they were on fire. But his stomach was steel in his belly, and no matter how hard his mind wanted to retch in revulsion at the thought of Stormfur and Swallowpaw being mates, his belly would not allow him to. So the steel in his belly turned to sour rust and disgust as he paced the RiverClan camp, and the rage in his mind blazed.

He finally stopped to glance at the apprentice den, where he could see the faint rise and fall of Swallowpaw's flank next to Ashpaw. How long had he been this in love with Swallowpaw? His entire childhood was the two of them playing while his siblings slept, of watching her dancing green eyes when they snuck out of the nursery to watch the apprentices and warriors go out on patrols. Swallowpaw had become an apprentice first, and gone out without him, but always came back to visit and tell him the amazing stories of outside of the camp. And when Reedpaw had become an apprentice as well, and had gone out with Swallowpaw for the first time… It had been like a dream come true. Like fantasy become reality. He thought there was nothing more joyful than trotting along the river, his fur brushing hers and smelling her sweet, watery scent.

He tore his gaze from Swallowpaw's dark, shiny fur. Now she was being used to prove the loyalty of another cat. It was more than Reedpaw could bear. He kicked at a sharp stone that had come loose from the water around the island as was waiting to be replaced and it rolled towards Leopardstar's den. He sighed and padded after it. He had nothing better to do, he might as well replace it. As he bent to pick up the rock he froze, his eyes fixed on Leopardstar's den, where a dark she-cat was standing in the entrance. A dark cat he had never seen before, who smell of burnt pelts, of ThunderClan, and of blood.

"ThunderClan!" Reedpaw cried, not taking his eyes off of the cat, "_ThunderClan!_"

Stormfur took up the yowl, bounding into camp and racing towards the she-cat as she tried to make her escape out of the camp entrance. She swerved to avoid him and Reedpaw darted in, nipping at his ankle. He felt his teeth brush short fur and an ashy taste filled his mouth, but the she-cat was not phased, and continued to run.

"Get after her!" Mistyfoot snarled to the stumbling, half-awake warriors. She called to Runningnose and the both rushed to Leopardstar's den. A moment later a wail broke the air around Reedpaw, and Mistyfoot's pained voice was heard above the clamor to follow the ThunderClan assassin, "_Leopardstar is dead!_"

Reedpaw opened his mouth to wail but Blackclaw bowled into him, knocking him over. Blackclaw snarled something incomprehensible and Heavystep was at his side, seizing his scruff and dragging him out of the camp, after the ash-tasting she-cat. Reedpaw stumbled to his paws and a crowd of cats began to push at him, forcing him out of the camp and after the cat. After failing several times to push through the cats and get back into the camp, Reedpaw turned and began to run with them in search of the killer. It was all he could do for now.

The cats scattered when they reached the main land and many turned and began to head towards ThunderClan territory, the direction an assassin from ThunderClan would take. But Reedpaw felt himself drawn upstream, and circled around the camp, feeling a shiver run up his spine whenever he heard Mistyfoot wailing for her lost leader. His mother would need comfort, and Reedpaw almost turned to go back to camp and do so, but the pull in his gut was too strong, and he quickened his pace, braking into a slow lope down a well-used path. Unexpectedly, he jumped into a sprint, which carried him further north in the RiverClan territory until his chest was heaving and his paws felt raw and sticky with blood. He stopped and turned them over, but saw nothing unusual about them. Tentatively, Reedpaw licked his pad, and his mouth was left with the taste of ash.

"I knew you would find me," said a sad voice.

Reedpaw looked up and stumbled back a few steps in surprise. The trail he had followed had thinned to a simple hunting trail which led around the far edge of RiverClan territory and was flush against the broad, flat fields that twolegs kept their cows in. He had passed beneath the fence that separated forest from field, and was standing in flank-high grasses, moonlight coating his pelt. The moon was nearly full, but the light seemed to be dim and cloudy. The killer stood in the grass only a few tail-lengths in front of him, her green eyes tilted downwards, tail low in the grass.

"Wh-who a-are you?" Reedpaw stuttered, caught off guard by the cat's sudden appearance.

The cat sighed and lifted her head as a soft breeze washed over her, closing her large green eyes. Reedpaw shivered when he caught the scent of sour, burned pelt but paused when he smelled something else. Something that he could not quite describe, but was something like the smell of sadness. The she-cat turned back to him.

"I am what tragedy brought to this world," said the she-cat, her green eyes distant and full of sadness, "I always am. And it is my curse to always be. You will understand, soon." She turned to leave and then glanced back, something strange reflected in her green eyes, "I wanted to meet you once before then. Just once."

Reedpaw opened his mouth, he should try to stop her, he should fight her and drag her back to RiverClan to face judgment for what she had done. He filled his lungs, prepared to cry out a battle cry and rush at the she-cat who was walking away from him, but instead he felt the battle call turn into a question, and the question called out to her:

"But who are you?"

The she-cat turned and looked at him for a long time, and then a small, sad smile played over her face. She answered quietly in her strange voice; "I have lived several lives, each with a different name. In this they call me Burntfur."

"And what do you call yourself?"

The smile faded from Burntfur's face and her eyes became distant again. Her mouth formed one word, and as soon as it was said, she vanished without a trace.

"_Grief_."

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><p>Reedpaw walked slowly back to the RiverClan camp, trying hard not to think of what just happened between he and the she-cat Burntfur, or Grief. His thoughts were so clouded he didn't even hear the ruckus going on in the camp until he walked into it and bumped into Swallowpaw. She said something excited that he didn't quite make out and rushed off, leaving Reedpaw. Ashpaw bounded up to him then, her bright blue eyes dancing.<p>

"Reedpaw, Mother's gone to the Moonstone to get her nine lives!" she said, "Runningnose went with her and so did Heavystep!"

"Heavystep?" Reedpaw tilted his head to the side. Heavystep was a powerful warrior, full of strength, but not very fast. He was a gentle cat, though, and treated Reedpaw nicely whenever they were working together.

"Heavystep says he had a dream from StarClan, and they told him to become a Medicine Cat!" Ashpaw grinned, "It's so exciting, isn't it? Mother says we're going to get revenge on those mangy cur for ever messing with RiverClan. She's so angry right now, I wish you could have seen her!"

Reedpaw briefly thought that it would be a problem for Feathertail, who was supposed to become Heavystep's mate, but there were other male cats in the Clan, she would be assigned to another and prove her loyalty through them. The rest of the conversation Reedpaw lost track of as Ashpaw led him to the apprentice den and they settled down next to each other to sleep. He felt himself drifting to sleep even though his mind buzzed with the activity of the night, and when he slept, he dreamed of fire and blood.

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><p><strong>Grrr... I have to run now. Cleaning for my father isn't the greatest job, but it gets me paid, at least. Mulah in the pocket!<strong>

**Anyway, review, enjoy, and search for my errors! I'll see you in the next chapter with Cedar/White, and we'll watch the events unfold!**


	10. Chapter Nine: Cold, Black Rock

**I recently discovered that something called _work_ is god-aweful and must be exterminated at any means nessecery. This reminds me again of why I want to be self-employed, and never have a boss in my entire life. But that's a different story. My work schedule has been a little hectic and, -gasp- I've been actually going out into the world and doing shit, so I've been too tired to actually do any writing when I get home. But besides that, I found time while working to type up most of this, and then editted it while at home and finished it and, no, am posting it for all of you~ As I said before, this chapter is all White/Cedar, and, if you can believe it, we only have two more chapters left. :( I'm considering adding a short epilogue to that as well, so mayyyybe three. We'll see how the last chapter ends up.**

**So, once again, I present to you Chapter Nine: Cold, Black Rock.**

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><p><strong>Glimmer Icewood: I love making crazy shit happen, because it keeps me entertained while I write it, and it keeps you entertained while you read it :) <strong>

**tufted titmouse: I haven't decided if Reedpaw will get Swallowpaw or not... I should figure that out, no?**

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><p>Whitepaw bounced over the top of the ravine, a fat sparrow in her mouth. She had spent the morning hunting it, along with several other birds, and had perfected her own technique of hunting them. The bird was still warm, and she hoped that Cedarheart was at Fourtrees already so that they could share it.<p>

Whitepaw had spent a lot of time by herself for the past three days, Firestar had been feverish and too sick to leave his den, and because of Graystripe's sudden promotion to deputy, and Whitestorm's demotion and retirement, Whitepaw had gone largely unnoticed by the other warriors and cats. So she snuck out every day behind the apprentice den before Spiderpaw and the others woke up and practiced hunting. Whether or not she was able to catch something was up to her, and with Cedarheart's help from before, she was easily able to catch small mice and voles. Rabbits and birds, she was learning, took a different technique, and she was still working on both of them. The sparrow was a pleasant surprise, and she was eager to share it.

Cedarheart was already waiting at the bottom of the ravine, his near-black fur clean and shiny in the sunlight, and his bright amber eyes already waiting for her. He stood as she bounded down the ravine, and smiled when he saw the far sparrow in her mouth and watched as she dropped it in front of him triumphantly.

"Did you catch it yourself?" he asked.

"Of course! I worked really hard to catch it, and when I did, I came straight here!" Whitepaw glanced up at the sun and frowned, "You're early, how long have you been here?"

"A while," Cedarheart admitted sheepishly, "I guess… I wanted to see you as soon as possible."

Whitepaw flushed and kicked at the dust, averting her eyes from Cedarheart. She had been wanting to tell him since the Gathering… She pushed it aside, despite the heat in her ears, and grinned up at Cedarheart. She pushed the sparrow to him, and crouched down and nosed it.

"I brought this for us to share, come on, before it gets old and funny-tasting."

Whitepaw and Cedarheart shared the sparrow. He laughed with Whitepaw accidentally got a feather stuck in one of her nostrils and began sneezing uncontrollably. Cedarheart held her head still while Whitepaw struggled to contain her sneezes, and plucked the feather from her nose. Whitepaw giggled and plucked a few more feathers and blew them in his face, and Cedarheart whacked her playfully and swallowed the last bit of the sparrow.

"Turkey," sniffed Whitepaw.

"Kit," Cedarheart batted her head. Whitepaw grinned and tackled him, and the two tumbled around together on the ground. Cedarheart finally stopped rolling when Whitepaw came to a rest on top of him, and his amber eyes glowed warmly. Whitepaw flushed when she realized that she was sitting on top of him, but Cedarheart bent up to lick her nose, and Whitepaw was sure her ears turned pink. But Cedarhearts peacefully happy expression faded to something more sad and quieter, and he gently pushed Whitepaw off of him and said, quietly:

"Whitepaw, I Need to talk to you-"

"I figured out how to hunt birds yesterday, you need to stay really low and move really fsat, and come up directly behind them-" Whitepaw tried not to think of his sad look, and the way he was looking at her. Just go back to the way you were, just lets go back to being happy…

"Whitepaw-"

"Then you need to get as close as possible and jump as high as you can when you pounce, because they always start to fly away and it's hard to-"

"Whitepaw, Blackstar was killed two nights ago."

Whitepaw froze and stared at Cedarheart. He glowing his glowing amber eyes and heaved a large sigh, then sat down and motioned for Whitepaw to sit next to him. Hesitantly, Whitepaw padded forward and sat down next to him, close enough for their pelts to be brushing. Cedarheart cast his eyes down, not looking at Whitepaw as he spoke.

"A cat that smelled of ThunderClan crept into the Clan camp and killed him while he slept. She was spotted by the guards and fled, and the entire Clan searched for her afterwards, but she wasn't found. Russetstar left for the moonstone that night, and apparently met Mistyfoot, the RiverClan deputy, while she was there… Whitepaw, Leopardstar and Blackstar were killed on the same night by the same cat and…" his voice trailed off. Whitepaw stared at him, her green eyes widening.

"…and the description is a she-cat with green eyes. We believe she covered herself in ash to hide her pelt." He turned and stared at Whitepaw long and hard, and Whitepaw felt a stone grow hard and cold in her stomach. Was he… He was really…

"You think… I killed them?" she whispered.

"No, no, I don't think you killed them. But… do you know any cat in ThunderClan who could… do you have any idea who this cat could be?"

Slowly, Whitepaw shook her head, "No… no I don't. I'm the only she-cat who has green eyes in ThunderClan and… and I think the last one was Sandstorm, Firestar's mate before she died."

"I… I see. I'm sorry, Whitepaw," Cedarheart lowered his eyes again. Whitepaw watched him for a long time, his eyes were distant, and his thoughts were miles and miles away from her right now. He was lost, but at the same time, he was finding something inside of him, perhaps. Tentatively, Whitepaw touched his shoulder with his muzzle.

"Cedarheart, what happened?" she asked quietly. Cedarheart did not look at her when he answered.

"Russetstar named me deputy, Whitepaw. And… and she's tasked me with finding out who killed Blackstar."

Whitepaw stood up and backed away from Cedarheart, her green eyes even larger and full of fear now. It was one thing to meet a friend at Fourtrees. It… it was a completely different thing to be meeting a Clan deputy and… and to be…

"Whitepaw, don't be afraid, nothing is different-"

"No… no, everything i-is different now. Y-you're a deputy a-and I'm… I'm…"

"Whitepaw-"

"N-no! I didn't know wh-what you were… I shouldn't be here a-and…"

"Whitepaw, you don't need to be afraid of me just because-"

"No, no, I do!" Y-you're a deputy now and I thought… I thought you and I could be…" Whitepaw lifted her eyes to him and stared at him for a long time. His eyes were clouded and confused. Whitepaw backed away slowly, the fur on her back spiking with fear, "I should go. We should pretend this never happened."

"No, Whitepaw-"

"No, I-I thought that I could tell you that I… B-but…"

"Whitepaw, there's nothing different from before. I'm still your friend, we can still meet like this, I can make it work-"

"No! This never happened, I never met you and I never… I never…" Whitepaw turned and did the only thing that came naturally to her. She ran.

"Whitepaw!" Cedarheart called after her. But Whitepaw ignored him, scrambling up the side of the ravine and weaving between the plants. She could feel Cedarheart shrinking behind her and her heart squeezing with every step away from him. She stumbled over a rock and felt a thorny bush scrape against her forehead, and felt something give on her skin. Blood began to trickle down her forehead, but she scrambled to her paws again and kept on running. She heard Cedarheart call behind her, but she kept running. If she could just get away, she could forget about him, she could fall inside of her Clan, she could-

"Whitepaw-"

And then Cedarheart was in front of her, and she was skidding to a halt before she could run into him. His long legs carried him so much faster than hers, and before she could dodge around him, he pounced, knocking her onto her back and pinning him beneath him, nose only a breath from hers and his amber eyes no longer clouded with confusion, but clear with desperation.

"Please, don't leave me," Cedarheart whispered and lowered his muzzle, eyes dropping in desperation and the feeling of crumbling defenses, "I love you. I don't… I don't want to stop seeing you, even if I'm deputy now. Please, Whitepaw, I… I don't know what to do. I haven't been eating right, I haven't been sleeping well, and my dreams are full of fire and blood… I can't stop thinking about you. It takes all my willpower not to cross the border to find you and just… see you. Please, Whitepaw. I love you. I love you."

Whitepaw stared at him for a long time, watching his broad face, his half-opened amber eyes so distraught and filled with love… and slowly she leaned upwards and licked his forehead. Cedarheart stepped back and let her up, and Whitepaw touched her muzzle to his, leaning against his shoulder and pressing her body as close as possible to his.

"I wanted to tell you the same," she murmured, "I… I love you too."

They sat next to each other for a long time, Cedarheart slowly turned and began to lick the cut on her forehead until it stopped blooding. Whitepaw closed her eyes, drinking in his unique smell of ShadowClan, marsh, and faint heather. She marveled at how he kept his fur so clean while living in marches, and how gentle he was despite being a ShadowClan cat. She sighed, pressing her muzzle deeper into his chest, and Cedarheart didn't push her away, pressing his muzzle against the top of her head and sighing.

"Well, it's this touching. Two cats so deeply in love they didn't even notice a patrol of warriors circling them."

Both Whitepaw and Cedarheart sprang to their paws, Whitepaw shying closer to Cedarheart, who bristled and bared his teeth. A smoky black tom stinking of RiverClan slid from the bushes along with six other RiverClan warriors.

"Blackclaw," growled Cedarheart, "What are you doing here? And why bring so many warriors? Fourtrees is neutral territory."

"Only during the full moon, Cedarheart, and we can still fight on neutral ground, can we not?" Blackclaw grinned and slid his yellow eyes to Whitepaw, "We have no quarrel with you, however, we just need _her_."

Whitepaw whimpered and shrunk closer to Cedarheart. For all her inborn hunting abilities, she had never been once trained to fight.

"And what would you need her for?" demanded Cedarheart.

"Mistystar sent me, her new _deputy_, to capture her as a bargaining piece with Firestar. ShadowClan and RiverClan are allied now, so hand her over, _partner_."

"No, she's just an apprentice," Cedarheart growled, "You can't use her as a bargaining chip."

"According to Mistystar, we can."

"According to me, you can't."

Cedarheart's eyes flickered from side to side, watching the RiverClan warriors begin to close the circle and stalk towards them. One bared his teeth and hissed, and Cedarheart hissed back. Whitepaw whimpered again.

"Have it your way," Blackclaw grinned,"RiverClan, attack!"

All six warrior rushing in at once, four tackling Ccedarheart and throwing him to the ground, while Blackclaw and the two others grabbed a shrieking Whitepaw and began hauling her towards RiverClan territory. Cedarheart roar and threw his opponents, leaping to his paws and darting between them, bowling into Blackclaw and sending him rolling and then flashed around, knocking back the two other warriors.

"Whitepaw, run, run for ThunderClan!"

And Whitepaw did, running as fast as her white legs could carry her, she scrambled down the ravine and back towards the ThunderClan territory. But she had hardly made it to the Great Rock when the RiverClan warriors caught up to her, seizing her by the nape and dragging her back towards RiverClan territory. Whitepaw screamed for Cedarheart, but he was trapped beneath Blackclaw and three other warriors, hissing and battering at them with his back paws, managing to throw them off and scramble to his feet before Blackclaw jumped onto his back and pinned him down. Whitepaw felt the world turn cold as Blackclaw raised his claw and Cedarheart looked up desperately, his amber eyes meeting hers for a heartbeat before Blackclaw's claw fell on his head, and Cedarheart went limp beneath him.

"_NO!_" Whitepaw screamed, flailing. Another warrior pinned her to the ground with his claws before sinking his teeth into her scruff as well, helping the first warrior drag her back to RiverClan, "_No! Cedarheart, no!"_

The other warriors trotted around Cedarheart as if he were a rock on the ground, and when Blackclaw neared Whitepaw, instead feeling the rush of hatred and rage she thought she would feel, she could only feel that cold black rock growing in her stomach again. One glare from Blackclaw and she lowered her eyes and gave up fighting, and allowed the warrior to surround her and escort her back to the RiverClan territory. Her tail dragged in the dust and her head fell, and when she tried to look back and see Cedarheart's body one last time, all she saw were the blue eyes of a black RiverClan apprentice, watching her curiously.

"I loved him," Whitepaw whispered, half to him and half to herself, "I loved him."

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><p><strong>Bum-bum-BUUUUUM<strong>

**Well, nothing more to say than we are NEARLY DONE. Something big is going to happen... and soon. I'll have you all wriggling in your seats by the end of the next chapter, hopefully. I'll have my fun, oh yes, I will :)**


	11. Chapter Ten: The Gathering of Four

**Wow. I didn't expect that many people to get upset when I killed Cedarheart. I mean, he was supposed to die from the very beginning. He was one of the planned deaths. Mudfur wasn't planned, remember, and surprisingly, neither was Blackstar. They just kind of happened to die, if anyone can really... happen... to die... Anyways, Ii'm already working on the final chapter and I've decided that yes, there will be an epilogue. I need to polish off the details on that, but can I just say that the next chapter will be so goddamn epic you will SHIT YOUR PANTS. And not only that, but you will SHIT GOLDEN EGGS that will hatch into GOLDEN EAGLES and fly circles around the Earth AT MACH 5. THAT is how epic the next chapter will be, and don't you forget it.**

**Chapter 10: The Gathering of Four is brought to you by Fuck It, because when you're planning a story, Fuck It and go batshit insane.**

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><p><strong>tufted titmouse: Still have not figured that out... I really need to :( but anyways, enjoy!<strong>

**PianoGirl24: He's dead. Dead as a doorknob. As that stick Jayfeather is in love with. As dead as a rock. A chair. A dead... thing. He's DEAD.**

**ADHD kid in jail: His death was essential to the plot. You shall seeeeeee...**

**Whisperfang: I'm glad you're in love with it, and I liked Cedarheart too. Thanks for the review :)**

**Procella: Hm. I'll have to go dust off my anti-stalking kit again. Lesse, I need new land mines, grenades, bullet for my M16, barbed wire... I got it all, COME AT ME IF YOU DAREH!**

**GlimmerIcewood: I love killing characters. Just. Love. It. :)**

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><p>Whitepaw felt a shiver run up her body again, tucked her nose under one paw, and pulled her tail in closer to her body. She was already curled into the smallest ball in the corner of Mistystar's den that she could be, but every time one of those chill river winds swept into the hollow, accompanied by the cold mud beneath her and the scent of RiverClan around her, she couldn't help but shiver and try to become even smaller than she actually was. She struggled to lose herself in the darkness and, at the same time, struggle not to think back in time. But whenever she closed her eyes, whenever she blinked or dozed, the vision of Cedarheart's strong, lean body falling limp beneath Blackclaw's claw would catch her and seize her throat in its teeth and squeeze, threatening to kill her right then and there.<p>

Whitepaw whimpered, praying to StarClan for help, for Cedarheart to descend from the heavens and fight his way through RiverClan to her and take her away forever, back up to the stars with him. But no matter how much she prayed and how much she whispered his name, Cedarheart did not come, and the only vision she could ever see was of him falling limp and lifeless beneath Blackclaw, and the desperate look in his amber eyes as he met her eyes for the last time. Whitepaw whimpered again.

Eventually the black apprentice she had seen at Fourtrees padded into the den quietly with a water vole and placed it by her paws quietly. When he did not turn to leave, Whitepaw looked up at him, sniffed at the water vole, and turned her nose away. She couldn't smell the prey. She couldn't even feel her hunger.

"Mistystar says you need to eat and gain your strength," said the apprentice, "We're going to take you to Fourtrees today, to ransom you back to Firestar."

Whitepaw said nothing but shove the vole away when he nudged it closer. The apprentice shifted uneasily.

"You really did love him?" he finally asked quietly.

Whitepaw stared at him, and then lowered her eyes and nodded, "I didn't know him for that long but… he was so nice to me and… I don't know…" she lowered her head to her paws and squeezed her eyes shut. Cedarheart fell limp and lifeless beneath Blackclaw again and she trembled, "It would have never worked, but I had always hoped that… Something could change. Somehow we could be together, without having to hide it."

The apprentice stared at her for a long time, even after Whitepaw opened her eyes again and looked up at him. He didn't say anything, but after a while pushed the vole towards her again. Whitepaw didn't push it away this time.

"Eat," was all he said, "We're leaving soon. It's just past sunrise."

Whitepaw pulled the vole closer towards her and sniffed it tentatively, then took a small bite. She looked up at Reedpaw, her green eyes flat and quiet, "He won't want me back," was all she said, "Firestar only wants blood."

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><p>Tallstar had not slept well for the past few nights. His warriors reported Mistyfoot, Runningnose, and Heavystep traveling across the moors together, and that Firestar had killed Leopardstar through some dark arts. When the three had crossed back over the moors, Mistystar had gotten her name and lives, but Heavystep had been rejected by StarClan, his dream of being called as a Medicine Cat seemingly false, which troubled Tallstar more than he realized. Runningnose seemed content living in RiverClan and helping them find a Medicine Cat, but he was obviously frustrated as well. It was then that Tallstar learned of Blackstar also dying, and Russetstar taking his place on the same night as Mistystar. It was all too strange for the old cat, and he felt a shiver run up his spine.<p>

He walked alone along the ridge that surrounded WindClan's camp, glancing down every once in a while to see the apprentice and warriors, queens and kits and elders. He was their leader, their protector. And yet it felt as if he was running away from what was really important. But what that was he didn't know. Tallstar turned and started towards the moors, his paws content to lead him wherever he desired. He walked absently around the entrance to the camp when he caught a scent that should not have been there and paused. He lowered his nose and sniffed again, and felt dread sink into his stomach.

Ashfoot had left the camp again. Tallstar sighed and sniffed again, his nose almost to the ground. The scent was not fresh, but it had been laid down perhaps in the late morning. Perhaps an hour or two before. He waved his tail to Whitetail as she passed, and she walked over.

"Have you seen Tornear?" he asked. Whitetail shook her head.

"I think Mudclaw sent him off on an early morning patrol, but he should be back soon."

Tallstar nodded, "I want you to find him right now and tell him to follow me. You don't need to know why, trust me, but I'd like for you to move as fast as possible."

Whitetail's eyes opened wide but she nodded and didn't ask any more questions, darting off towards the ShadowClan border in search of Tornear. Tallstar sniffed the ground again and began to pad down the rise, following Ashfoot's scent. She took a clear trail that Tallstar often led the camp down when he was leading the cats to the Gathering, and he felt his heart sink. Ashfoot could arrive at Fourtrees while ShadowClan and RiverClan were confronting ThunderClan, and the last thing he wanted was the confused mother to witness another bloody battle.

He was halfway to Fourtrees when Tornear caught up to him, panting and slick with sweat.

"I smelled Ashfoot and came as fast as I could," he panted, "Whitetail told me to follow you a-and… Do you think she's gone far?"

"By now she's probably made it to Fourtrees," Tallstar murmured and glanced at the sun, "It's almost sunhigh, come, we should hurry."

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><p>Firestar felt Burntfur return to him late in the morning, her sour scent materializing from seemingly nowhere and her ashlike, ghostlike body stepping from the rock and shadows. He rolled onto his paws and stood, his legs trembling and his mouth dry. How long had it been since he had eaten? How long was it since he had drunk? Or dreamt peacefully? Ash and fire and blood were all that danced in his head now, and it seemed as if the living world was becoming no different. Burntfur lowered her head when he rose to his paws, then lifted it slowly, her green eyes bright in the darkness.<p>

"Leopardstar and Blackstar's deputies have become leaders now," she said quietly, "Mistystar and Russetstar have chosen their new deputies: Blackclaw and Cedarheart."

"Were you seen?" Firestar demanded.

"Yes."

"Did they know you were from ThunderClan?"

"Yes."

"Excellent work," Firestar growled in pleasure, but noticed the lack of happiness in Bunrtfur's own eyes. His growl turned harsh, and he whipped around at Burntfur, smashing an open claw against her head. Burntfur fell against the stone and trembled, but stood again and stared at Firestar, blood dripping down both sides of her face.

"Something is wrong," growled Firestar, staring at her long and hard, "Tell me, what has changed? Leopardstar and Blackstar are dead, I have nothing to fear from either of them any longer. Why do you look at me like that?" Butnfur did not reply and Firestar snarled, "Do not _look at me like that!_"

He clubbed Burntfur again on the head, sending her stumbling again and splattering more of her strange, four-colored blood onto the ground. White blood. Red blood. Black blood. Gray blood. Firestar felt ice crawl down his spine and snarled again, and Burntfur stood up again, her head low to hide her eyes.

"You may have nothing to fear from Leopardstar and Blackstar, my Light," she said quietly, tonelessly, "But Mistystar and Russetstar have sworn revenge, and will not stop until they see you've left the forest or died."

"The fools!" snarled Firestar, "Do they not know that I'm doing this for them? That I'm going to make their lives into better ones? That they are tricking themselves into a slow, painful death rather than a quick, merciful one? I will kill them, I will scatter their blood and break their bones between my teeth and they and their ancestors will rue the day that they decided to raise their claws and battle cries against Firestar, Leader of ThunderClan!" He whipped around to Burntfur again, "We will kill them. We will kill all of them, we will _burn_ their bodies and souls and turn this forest into a pile of ash and watch it be born again. _They will not stop the Change_!"

"Firestar, are you alright?"

Firestar spun and hissed as Graystripe entered his den and the big gray warrior paused, uncertain. The feverish light in Firestar's eyes had grown to a blaze, and the undeniable smell of sickness and sour sweat hung like thick vines around the den and Firestar. His eyes slid uneasily to the small she-cat with short, gray fur in the back, who looked up at him slowly. Between the strange, four-colored blood on her face he could make out two bright green eyes, which almost looked familiar. Graystripe shivered and turned back to Firestar.

"What is it?" hissed Firestar. His breath was far more sour than the scent around him, and Graystripe stirred uneasily.

"Whitepaw didn't come back last night, and we've been searching for her all night. We tracked her for Fourtrees and… well, we found…"

"…Cedarheart…" whispered Burntfur behind Firestar. Graystripe flinched at the sound of her voice, but Firestar raised his head and pushed past Graystripe, leaving his den. Firestar blinked a few times as sunlight caught his eyes, his den had made his eyes sensitive, but that would soon change. Cedarheart sat at the base of Highrock to his right besides Mousefur and Cloudtail while Cinderpelt and Dovepaw treated his wounds. One particularly nasty wound scraped down the side of his head, and Cedarheart winced whenever Cinderpelt touched it. All cats fell silent when they realized that Firestar had left his den, and Cinderpelt and Dovepaw scooted out of the way as he stalked over.

Cedarheart was a tall cat, built lean and strong but not wiry. His amber eyes were clouded, but with what Firestar could not tell. He lowered his head respectfully to Firestar when he walked over, and Firestar flattened his ears warily. Behind him, Burntfur walked out of his den behind Graystripe and stood quietly behind Firestar. Cedarheart's eyes moved from Firestar to Burntfur slowly, but he said nothing.

"Cedarheart," Firestar said coolly, "The ShadowClan deputy now, correct?"

"That is correct, Firestar," Cedarheart answered, betraying no uncertainty or nervousness.

"And tell me, why did my warriors find you at Fourtrees while we were searching for our lost apprentice?"

"I was patrolling alone, Firestar, trying to clear my head after becoming deputy, when I heard a commotion at Fourtrees, so I crossed the thunderpath and came across an apprentice I had met before named Whitepaw struggling with a RiverClan patrol. I didn't want to see an apprentice torn to shreds, so I tried to stop the fighting but…" he indicated to the wound on his head, "I was knocked out, and Whitepaw was dragged away."

"I see," Firestar said quietly, "And Cinderpelt and Dovepaw have been seeing to you wounds. Why did you decide to return to the ThunderClan camp with our patrol?"

"I was in need of assistance and despite the animosity between our Clans at the present, Firestar, I hope to help my friend."

Firestar stared at him for a long time, watching the minute flick of his eyes and ears, the way his eyes darted around the camp from time to time and the back to Firestar, the way his tail twitched when he said Whitepaw's name… Firestar almost laughed out loud, and Burntfur came up to him and whispered in his ear what he had learned from himself. He clubbed her again over the head, and Burntfur staggered to the ground. Dovepaw made to help her, but Cinderpelt held her back, her blue eyes large.

"I already know," hissed FIrestar at the second part of his soul. Burntfur said nothing but stood again, lowered her head, and backed away. Firestar turned back to Cedarheart, "I know why you went to Fourtrees and assisted Whitepaw, but I will not say, the look on your face is enough to tell me that my suspicions are true. Have her, for all I care, take her back to ShadowClan and make her your whore, run away and have as many kits with her as you like. But if you want her to be alive the next time you see her, you will help me in what's going to come next."

Cedarheart paused for a long time, collecting his emotions and then said, steadily, "And what is going to come next?"

Firestar's eyes glittered, "_Blood and fire_."

Just then Sootfur darted into the camp, out of breath and dappled with sweat. Graystripe walked over to him at once and steadied him, and Dovepaw raced to help as well. Firestar turned to him, his eyes cold, and watched as he managed to say something to Graystripe through puffs and wheezes. Graystripe nodded and padded back to Firestar, his face troubled.

"Sootfur met RiverClan warriors at Sunningrocks," he said, "They told him that Mistystar would take Whitepaw to Fourtrees at highnoon and would wait for you in order to negotiate her return." Graystripe glanced towards the sky, "If we leave now, we should be able to make it in time."

Firestar grinned and turned back to Cedarheart, "This is my blood and fire."

Firestar whipped back to Graystripe, his feverish green eyes sparkling in the sunlight, muscles rippling with excitement under his ratty, matted pelt, "Gather the warriors, gather _all _of them, no hunting patrols today, no border patrols. I want every warrior able to fight to prepare to leave for Fourtrees. Gather the apprentices, even Dovepaw, tell the Queens to prepare to leave their kits if they're not pregnant. Pull Whitestorm out of the elders den. Make sure everyone has eaten and sharpened their claws. Cinderpelt, is he fit to fight?"

Cinderpelt slowly nodded and Firestar grinned.

"Good then. Cedarheart, you're coming with us. Prepare yourself."

Firestar spun away, back to his den, and with a flick of his tail sent Burntfur to fetch prey for him. Graystripe quickly fell into step besides him, his yellow eyes filled with worry, "Firestar, what is it you hope to accomplish with this?"

"Fire and blood, Graystripe," Firestar laughed, "I'm about to turn this meeting into a massacre."

Burntfur watched the warriors prepare, some glancing at each other uneasily and others saying good-bye to their loved ones. She knew them all by name, knew their personalities by heart. They would glance at her uneasily and her strange four-colored blood that was drying and sticking to her face. She would have to clean herself later. But none of them recognized her, though she had expected that. She turned her eyes to Firestar, who was hissing at Graystripe, and felt something that could have been a heart grow still and sad in her chest. Firestar was not who he used to be. Not who he should be. But it didn't matter now.

She walked forward and stood behind Firestar, always at his side, always looking after him, and kept her eyes on him. Her eyes had always been for him. Firestar called to his Clan one last time and began to lead them out of the camp, and she followed behind him, on his opposite side, Graystripe. It was bittersweet.

_The Four are coming together_, she thought, looking up to the sky, _At sunhigh, I will finally be at peace_.

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><p><strong>Guess who's a lying sack of crap?<strong>

**I AM.**

**-insert long break while I laugh hystarically-**

**I love lying. I really do. It's just so much FUN! I really need to remember this in the future when I'm getting interviewed about my future fantasy epics. People will be like:**

**"You told us that XYZ was dead!"**

**And I'll be like:**

**"I lied."**

**GAH. That would be amazing. Anyway, you know the drill. Search for my errors, kick my ass, review, and, most of all, enjoy! Next chapter will be up as soon as possible!**


	12. Chapter Eleven: Fire and Blood

**Well this chapter was longer than I thought it would be. There's going to be a short epilogue after this, remember, so stay tuned for that as well, but nothing too big is going to happen in that. Most of the big stuff is going to happen in this one. :) Now, a reminder for the faint-at-heart, keep a friend near by with smellingsalts and a glass of water nearby to throw in your face to wake you up. Yup. You're going to need it. This chapter wraps up just about everything, and was so epic that I had to write it slowly and painfully. Every time I typed a word for this chapter, my keyboard burst into flames. I'm on my four thousandth keyboard, people, and I'm making Bill Gates more rich that he needs to be.**

**So, before we go on, I want to tell you about the next story I'm going to be working on. It's NOT going to be Brokenstar's Elite, but it's going to be And Who They Would Become. You can read a smal summary of it on by profile, but it's going to be about Cinderpelt and Brackenfur if they weren't rescused at the end of Into the Wild, and Brokenstar wasn't driven out. The prologue for THAT is going to be BLOOD-EE. Just saying. I'm personally looking forward to it, but I need to figure out the plot a little more. I do plan on publishing that before updating this story with the epilogue, but meh, who knows. It all depends I guess. So, without further ado, let me present to you the final chapter of Catalyst by Mij, Chapter Eleven: Fire and Blood.**

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><p><strong>SharpWhisper: I see that you are confused, but do not be! All about Burntfur will be explainedin this chapter :)<strong>

**GlimmerIcewood: I do it because I love you, of course! Enjoy the chapter!**

**baileeYDG: You did? :( I'm sorry I made you cry, but he came bcak to life!**

**tufted titmouse: I figured it out! You find out in this chapter!**

**Madame Wolfe: Inorite? He was bearable in the first series, but in Firestar's Quest and the second... bleh. I always saw Firestar as the try to go batshit insane. I guess i'm just doing what I think should be done :)**

**Procella: Ah, spelling error, that was meant to be SHIT as well. Fixed! But if I were to make up a definition of the word 'shint'... yeah, it's probably be about shitting as well. Enjoy!**

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><p>Mistystar stood when ThunderClan was scented, and Reedpaw felt a shiver of apprehension run down his spine when he saw the ragged ginger leader leading a patrol of warriors down the ravine. Whitepaw looked up to Reedpaw and was nudged to her feet by Blackclaw, but kept her eyes downcast as the ThunderClan patrol neared.<p>

"Firestar," Mistytstar said quietly, "You're late."

Firestar said nothing about being late, glaring first at Mistystar and then at Whitepaw, who had tentatively raised her eyes. She winced under his glare and lowered her eyes again hastily. Reedpaw noticed the burned gray she-cat, Grief, standing a little behind Firestar. Her face was lowered, and at a word from Firestar, she vanished. The RiverClan cats shifted uneasily and murmured to each other, but at a word from Mistystar, held strong and quieted.

"I see you have my apprentice," Firestar spoke loud, but his voice did not sound as strong as Reedpaw thought it should sound like. It sounded… crooked, twisted, "I came because you want something for her return. What would that be?"

Whitepaw looked up and Reedpaw heard her take a sharp breath inwards and then, quietly: "_Cedarheart_!"

Reedpaw followed her gaze to a cat near the front of the warriors, the near-black warrior with warm amber eyes fixed on Whitepaw, his claws kneading the ground. He didn't seem to be listening to either leader talk, his eyes only on Whitepaw and unwavering. Another warrior near the front shot a disgusted look at Cedarheart before turning his own blue eyes to Whitepaw and narrowing them. He looked a lot like Whitepaw, so Reedpaw assumed that it was her father, but Whitepaw didn't seem to notice him, her eyes only on Cedarheart.

"We want you to leave the forest," Mistystar hissed, "Make Whitestorm leader and never come back. Only then we will give you back your apprentice alive."

"Whitestorm is no longer my deputy, Graystripe is," Firestar laughed coldly, "But it doesn't matter. I am leader of ThunderClan, and I plan to be until my death. The life of one apprentice will hardly force me to step down, even if she is my kin."

Mistystar shifted uneasily, not sure of what to say next. She glanced at Blackclaw, who growled, and taking his advice, turned back to Firestar, her eyes narrowed to slits, "If you will not leave this forest and take your madness elsewhere, we will have to force you from here."

Firestar laughed again, "I'd like to see you try! ThunderClan, show yourselves!"

The RiverClan warriors gasped and glanced at each other uneasily as warrior after warrior appeared along the edge of the ravine, wrapping around until they surrounded the much-smaller group of RiverClan warriors. Reedpaw saw apprentices and warriors young and old, along with a few she-cats he knew had kits of their own back at their camp. Firestar had spared no warrior for hunting or patrolling. He was here in full force, ready to destroy RiverClan and Mistystar and was not going to hold anything back. Reedpaw smelled fear-scent rise among his clanmates, his own along with theirs, and Whitepaw let out a strangled cry at how many warriors were there.

"Dovepaw!" she gasped, "But she's Cinderpelt's apprentice!"

Even a Medicine Cat apprentice? What was Firestar thinking?

"Firestar, you mangy rat," snarled Mistystar, "You never meant for this to be a meeting. You want us all dead."

Firestar laughed and stalked forward, his green eyes rolling as he sauntered like a crazed animal, "Of course, Mistystar. One less Clan for me to worry about. I'll claim your life and your territory, and then the territories of the other Clans as well. I will bring Change to this forest like none you've ever seen!"

"Madness!" snarled Mistystar, "You will not succeed, Firestar, StarClan will never allow this to happen!"

"StarClan!" Firestar's laugh was wild now, "You've seen StarClan and they are _dead_. Their forests are ash, their fields are sundered and split. Whoever was left to give you your nine lives are the last there will ever be, I will finish them personally after I finish you!" He threw back his head and howled, "ThunderClan, attack!"

The mass of cats surrounding the far-smaller RiverClan patrol rushed down , crying battle cries and snarling. Whitepaw broke away from her guards at once, running for Cedarheart, who surged past Cloudtail and ran to meet her. They met at the foot of the great rock, and before either could say a word, the battle engulfed them. Cedarheart shoved a RiverClan warrior that leapt at him aside and into Cloudtail, then spun and helped Whitepaw closer to the Great Rock, ignoring the fighting. Whitepaw looked up at him, her green eyes full of happiness, and met his, which were full of love.

"I knew you would come for me," the apprentice almost laughed, her joy brimming over inside.

"Of course I would," Cedarheart bent and touched his nose to hers, "I love you."

"I love you t-"

Whitepaw was cut off by a gurgle, and Cedarheart wailed. A RiverClan warrior had grabbed Whitepaw by the neck and dragged her backwards, raking his claws down her flanks and shaking her like a rag doll. Cedarheart leapt forward to help, but another RiverClan cat leaped at him and knocked him back. With a bellow, Cedarheart shoved the warrior away, and the warrior stumbled over another cat, a gray she-cat with blue eyes that were wide with terror. A fresh wind blew the scent of WindClan at Cedarheart and he recognized her: Ashfoot, an elder of WindClan. But what was she doing here?

Before he could wonder any longer the RiverClan warrior attacked the elder, pinning her to the ground and yanking on her ears. Cedarheart turned and raced back to Whitepaw, who struggled to throw off the much-larger RiverClan tom. Cedarheart tackled him, throwing him against the Great Rock and sank his teeth into his throat. Before he knew if the warrior was dead or not, he turned back to Whitepaw, who was bleeding from a deep wound to her chest.

"C-cedarheart…" Whitepaw trembled as Cedarheart nosed her all over and inspected her wounds, wincing when he touched her, "I-I always though th-that we'd… we'd be t-together…"

"And we will be," Cedarheart pressed his muzzle to hers briefly, "Rest, kit, stay strong. I'll get you to Cinderpelt and she'll patch you up like never before and I can join you in ThunderClan."

"N-no, I want to be with you in ShadowClan," Whitepaw trembled, "I-I'll stay alive, f-for you."

"Good kit," Cedarheart licked her forehead and pressed his dusty paws against the wound to slow the bleeding, but just then a ThunderClan warrior barreled into him and latched her teeth into his shoulder. Cedarheart spat, trying to tell her they were fighting the same enemy, but he saw the feverish look in her eyes and knew there was nothing to say – these cats were so filled with bloodlust that they turned on their own allies. He threw off the she-cat into another ThunderClan warrior and immediately the two began to battle each other. Cedarheart rushed back to Whitepaw and dragged her closer to the Great Rock. There was no getting her through the fighting, he would have to defend her here.

And now.

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><p>Reedpaw scrambled up the side of the ravine, his sides heaving, his head clouded with bloody confusion. Soon after the battle started he turned to defend the back side of the attack, but was knocked down almost at once and felt thorn-sharp claws rake over his shoulder. Reedpaw fought as hard as he could, hardly remembering any details of the fight, and then found himself running up the ravine. He wasn't running out of fear, through it coursed through his veins like blood. But he was pulled by that same feeling that came to him the night Leopardstar was murdered, the same night he had come across that she-cat, Burntfur, or Grief.<p>

At the top of the ravine he stopped and turned around, feeling his heart sink at the battle that was going on below. He could feel the madness from Firestar leaking into the fighting, saw his own Clanmates fighting each other as the insanity inflicted them, some even killing each other. Reedpaw opened his mouth to call to them, to open their eyes and make them see what they were doing. But his voice did not come to him, and his eyes could not move from a flaming point at the center of the battle: Firestar.

Firestar fought like a cat possessed, mowing down enemy after enemy that rose before him with precision and cruelty. He struck Mistystar once on the side of the head and the blue-gray she-cat fell dead, her first life lost, but turned and continued to fight, laughing manically. As he turned to face another warrior the manically joyful expression on his face abruptly changed, and suddenly he trembled and collapsed. Reedpaw could feel what was happening in Firestar happening in his own chest, and his legs trembled as Firestar threw back his head and _screamed_.

Pain ripped through Firestar, pain like he had never imagined in his entire life. Inside of his body, inside of his soul at that singular place called a heart, darkness was falling in upon him. The sliver of the fire that was left had died, and the Shadows were collapsing with it. Firestar screeched as he felt a thousand dead claws pierce his chest and dive for his heart, rolled on the ground in pain as a thousand fiery teeth dug into his belly for his liver. Pain entered him, lived in him, _became him_, and no matter how he clawed chunk of fur after chunk of fur from his body, there was nothing he could do to stop it. Cats parted around him, even in their madness knowing that they could not fight him now, and no knowing what to do with him. Leave him to his death. Leave him to his pain. Leave him to his sin.

Reedpaw's heart trembled in his chest as the sensation of Firestar's pain ebbed from his body. How had he felt that? Why had he felt that? As if to answer him, burnt fur filled the air, and Reedpaw turned to see Grief sitting next to him, her green eyes soft.

"_Fire and Blood_," Whispered Burntfur. Her voice was feather-soft, but somehow it carried out over the entire battlefield. Reedpaw could see a noticeable shiver run through the fighting cats, whether or not they realized. Burntfur turned to him, her sad green eyes dim and quiet. She turned back to where Firestar rolled on the ground, screeching in pain.

"You are the witness to the Causes," Burntfur said quietly, still watching Firestar with her flat, sad eyes, "You are the Catalyst. You are the god among warriors who will change the future, the song among screams. You've seen them, you've met them, and you know their plight." Burntfur swept her tail out, and pointed her nose to the cats she named.

"The Blind Eye," Cedarheart crouched over Whitepaw, throwing off another warrior and calling to Whitepaw, desperate to keep her alive. But Whitepaw's eyes were clouded, and she was slumped against the Great Rock, "Cedarheart chose to save her life rather than drag her back to his leader, and because of that, they fell in love."

"The Broken Heart," Now Burntfur turned to Ashfoot's still body, and Tornear rushing towards her, wailing, "The loss of her son was so great that Ashfoot's heart broke into too many pieces. She could never accept that he died, and so she lives in the past, and dreams of what could have been."

"The Falling Bird," Burntfur closed her eyes this time and then turned to Firestar, who had just thrown off Graystripe with so much force that the big gray warrior had gone flying in the opposite direction, "Firestar was a great warrior, and could have been a great leader, but grief overtook him, and now he pulls down the forest along with his sanity."

Burntfur turned to him now, a strange look in her flat green eyes, "And you, the Catalyst, the one who will change the world. You know these cats, you have seen their pain, you have seen their love, and you will decide how the world will Change, you will judge the world for its choices, and destroy in order to create." She lowered her head to Reedpaw, "I have killed for Firestar. I will kill for you. And then I will kill for myself, and be at peace."

Reedpaw turned away from Burntfur and back to the battle. He had never seen so much blood in his entire life. Mistystar was rolling on the ground with a brown ThunderClan warrior, Cedarheart wailed when he turned to Whitepaw and saw her body shuddering in the last throws of death, but was choked off when a RiverClan warrior latched her teeth into his neck and tore out his throat. Swallowpaw sputtered to a blow to the back of the head, knocking her to the ground lifeless. Stormfur crouched over the body of Feathertail, desperate to get her back to her paws and away from the battle. Cloudtail roared for his daughter, but had to fight through Heavystep in order to get to her. Cats shrieked. Cats moaned. They wailed. They hissed. They roared and snarled. They gurgled and died. And above all of it was Firestar, shrieking and spitting in the center of Fourtrees, screaming of an invisible wound that twisted in his heart. Reedpaw closed his blue eyes. He didn't want to see this, he couldn't see this.

"_But you must_," Burntfur whispered to him, "Four Leaders to Lead, Four Healers to Heal. Four Causes to Change. Four Victims to Kill. All are necessary for the Change to occur."

"Four to kill?" Reedpaw whispered, opening his eyes again. There were so many warriors down there, and so many cats dying… "Who do I have to kill?"

"You do not have to kill them yourself," said Burntfur, "They are already dying. The Causes plus one. Ashfoot, Cedarheart, Firestar, and the last-"

"Whitepaw." Reedpaw cut in, he looked at her and saw the blood on her face. White blood for Whitepaw. Gray blood for Ashfoot. Black blood for Cedarheart. Red blood for Firestar. "I… I think I understand now. The future in mine."

"The future is yours."

"I can change the world to become a better place."

"You can change the world to become a better place."

"And you… you'll do something for me?"

"Anything."

"You will kill someone for me."

"Anyone."

"Then don't kill anyone for me."

Burntfur lowered her head in a nod, "Very well. Then all I have left for is to kill for myself."

Reedpaw turned to Firestar, the last of the Causes to die, still screeching, still clawing and biting at anyone who got too close to him. Burntfur followed his gaze, her eyes softening with sadness and… Reedpaw could see it. Love. He did not say anything. Burntfur left his side at that moment and walked down the ravine, picking her way through the fighting cats, padding through the puddles of blood and bodies. No cat took notice of her, no cat wanted to take notice of her, but all smelled than bitter, sour smell of burnt flesh and fur, and unconsciously parted to let her through.

Firestar saw Burntfur walking towards him and could sense what was about to happen. He bellowed and struggled to get to his feet, but the world pitched beneath him, and he shrieked as the wound in his heart split open. His clouded green eyes filled with fear as Burntfur walked closer. He remembered her burning touch in StarClan, the way fire sprouted around her like grass and weeds, and he could see now, in her heart, that kindling was preparing itself. Preparing to burst into flames. He struggled to his feet and managed to hold himself there, bellowing something unintelligible, but his paws were rooted to the ground, and he could do nothing but howl as Burntfur walked closer and gently touched her nose to his.

Fire erupted between the two cats in such an explosion that the other warriors fell back, stunned. Firestar howled louder than before, screamed as the fire of the two merging souls engulfed both of the cats, screamed as it ate at his pelt and whiskers and skin.

"_You are mine_!" he screeched, "_You are mine, you _traitor_! You filth!_"

"No, Firestar," whispered the cat born from his grief, "I was yours. And I will be again. Open your eyes, look at me. _See me._"

Surprisingly, Firestar did as he was told, opening his eyes to the fire that was consuming every part of him, he saw the scarred, burned cat in front of him with large leaf-green eyes and the sleek body. He could make out the shape of her ears and the mold of her cheeks and the ridges above her eyes. And suddenly he could see the pale ginger fur, the stripes slightly darker that framed her face exotically, and he could smell the sweet scent of ThunderClan and forest and sunlight on dust. He could hear her laugher and her sharp voice, he could see her hunting among the brush and tackling him in the snow. He could see her running from dogs and curled next to him in his den, the moonlight making her pelt silver. And he could feel her love coursing through his blood, and wondered how he had never seen in before.

In the beginning it had only been her eyes. Firestar had missed her beautiful green eyes, and she had never blinked those wide, enormous green eyes. Her movements were mechanical and doll-like, and her voice was flat. It was her eyes that he wanted in the beginning. And it was her eyes that he created.

And then, during the last few days, something had changed. She had become more lifelike, her movements more fluid, her voice gained tone and emotion. She blinked, she flinched, she trembled and feared. She wasn't the mindless Shadow she claimed to be, even though that was where she was born. But she had a heart. He could see it now, inside of her, she had a soul. And he knew this soul.

"_Sandstorm_." Firestar whispered. Burntfur had been Firestar at first, with a little bit of Sandstorm. But then she had become Sandstorm, with a little bit of Firestar. And now she had come for him. Sandstorm smiled, and her green eyes were no longer sad. He saw her for who she really was, and both knew it was time for them to pass on.

Burntfur had started out mindless, emotionless, and void of life outside of her purpose to serve him, yes, but he realized that she had taken the shape of the thing that had caused him so much grief – his beloved mate. And the part of Sandstorm that Firestar had always clung to, the part of her soul that he had taken from her to keep her alive inside of him, had drifted to his Shadow, and taken root. When Burntfur and Sandstorm had met that night at the Moonstone, his mate had seen it. He hadn't seen her after that, and now he could only assume she was moving her mind and soul into Burntfur's body, making her more lifelike, more like Sandstorm was when she was living.

Fire ate through Firestar's muscles and organs, down to the bones of his body, to the bones of his life. He could see the cats around him scattering in panic, fleeing to their respective Clan territories. Tornear was pulled off of Ashfoot's body by Tallstar. Cloudtail was dragged away by Thornclaw. Mistystar led her Clan away, wounded horribly, and Graystripe bellowed to the rest of ThunderClan to retreat, his eyes lingering over Firestar and Sandstorm. He would be leader of ThunderClan now, and Firestar wondered who he would choose as deputy.

The fire no longer felt hot and itched his body as it ate it, it was warm, warm as sunshine, or love. He felt the weight of life lifted off his shoulders, and closed his eyes for one final time, breathing in the scent of fire and Sandstorm. It was time to die. He sighed as the as the last of his bones burned away, leaving only his soul, their soul, until that at last became charred and left only a black smudge on the ground. Firestar was finally at peace.

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><p>Reedpaw did not move from his vantage point for a long time after the fire, not until the sun had set and the moon had risen high above him. The scents of the battle would not fade, no matter how much wind passed over them, but it did not surprise Reedpaw. This would be a battle that the Clans remembered for a long, long time. He could see many bodies littered along the clearing of Fourtrees, but only three caught his attention, each one outlined in quicksilver beneath the moon. Three and a smudge of blackness at the base of the Great Rock. Finally, Reedpaw stood and walked down the ravine to the battleground.<p>

Burntfur had said that he was the Catalyst, that he would choose the future of the Clans by his will. That the future was his to decide, and not even StarClan could tell him what to and not to do with his power. He was a god among warriors, she had said, a song among screams. He was greater than all of them. And at the same time, he was worse. He walked through the bodies. Swallowpaw's open eyes stared at him blankly, her mouth half opened and blood trickling from her ears. She was dead. Reedpaw turned away from her to see the ThunderClan warrior Sootfur twisted into an unnatural position, his back broken. Again, Reedpaw turned away. His precious sister Ashpaw was dead, half buried beneath another RiverClan warrior. A ThunderClan apprentice with white fur was curled in a ball, as if still trying to protect herself. Her fur smelled faintly of herbs.

They all died for me, Reedpaw thought quietly, so that I could make the decision, to choose a new future. To destroy and rebuild. To create. He saw Feathertail's limp body next to Heavystep's. They were supposed to be mates, for Feathertail to prove her loyalty to RiverClan because her father was a ThunderClan warrior. The same with Stormfur and Swallowpaw, Reedpaw could only faintly remember that for some reason. He arrived at the places the Causes had died, along with Whitepaw. The Causes plus one. The Four to Kill in order to bring a new future. He sat and stared at them.

Ashfoot's mind had been broken after her son was killed stealing from another Clan. She had wandered the moors like a ghost, searching for him and reliving the night he had died over and over again. Her own brother had to deceive her in order to protect her sanity and hide it from the Clans. Cedarheart and Whitepaw suffered from a doomed romance from the start, but it didn't stop them from falling any deeper in love. They were both good cats, they were loyal cats, but it was because they were born in different Clans that tore them apart and led to their end. And Firestar… Firestar had lost his mate and had been driven insane by the grief that it caused, tearing down the world with himself. They were supposed to lead him. They were the four that had to die for him to decide the future.

Reedpaw closed his eyes, his voice trembling, "Ashfoot's son was killed when he stole prey from another Clan's territory, wanting to prove himself to his own Clan. If he hadn't died doing it, Ashfoot wouldn't have gone insane." Ashfoot's blank eyes seemed to twinkle as he spoke. Reedpaw turned to Cedarheart and Whitepaw, who were curled atop each other, embraced.

"Whitepaw and Cedarheart would have been happy together if… If they hadn't been born in different Clans."

The two seemed to curl closer together, and he could almost hear a faint purr of agreement. He turned to the black smudge on the ground and closed his eyes.

"Everyone who died here at Fourtrees died because Firestar wanted them to die, and wanted the forest to die along with them. His own warriors followed him to the death because of it, while other warriors followed their own leaders to their death."

A faint wind stirred the smudge of ash. The future was his to decide. And Reedpaw made his decision.

"I will change the future," he said quietly, "This will never happen again. I won't let anything like this happen again. I will make sure this never happens again. I will…"

He opened his pale blue eyes and flexed his claws, _"… I will destroy the four Clans_."

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><p><strong>Phew.<strong>

**Now that the earthquakes of epicness have ended, I have nothing more to say. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will now allow you to get down on your hands and knees and worship me. Go on, get down and SUCK MY DICK. I AM AWESOME.**

**...and a narcissist. But I've known that for a while.**


	13. Epilogue: War

**Well, here it is, the epilogue, out before my new story. Shows how hard I'm working on that one. I just need to sit down and do it tonight, get through the plot and whatnot and figure out the themes I want to explore. But I digress. Yes, I leave this story open for a sequel. Will there be one? Well, I'm pushing around an idea, but it's not going to be the next story that I do, and maybe not even the next story after that. In fact, I'm planning on this story not even being necessary to be read in order to enjoy the sequel. But you'll find out about more of that later.**

**This epilogue take place many, many years in the future, at the least, twenty-five years in the future, and is from the POV of someone that we kind of never had before. Kind of. You'll figure out what I mean when you read it. We find out what happens to Reedpaw in this chapter, and what change he decides to bring to the forest and get hints of just how powerful he really is. But I'm just spoiling it. Go on and read, enjoy, and review.**

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><p><em>I can't remember a time there wasn't war.<em>

_My mother used to tell stories of four Clans in the forest, four leaders, four medicine cats and four deputies. She said they used to be named RiverClan, ThunderClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan, and each had their own identity, the RiverClan cats could swim, the ThunderClan cats were great hunters, the WindClan cats were fast, and the ShadowClan cats were ferocious. But all I know, all anyone know nows, are three of each, and their names are always changing._

_When I was little, we were still called RiverClan, but I hardly remember that. The cats we fought against were nameless for the most part: We called them 'the enemy' or 'the wrong ones.' I believed that they were wrong too. But now that I'm older, I'm not so sure. In fact, now that I see the world through different eyes, I don't think that anything I've been taught was completely true._

_Soon after I was born we became the Forest Clan, because we had taken both sides of the river and destroyed one of the opposing Clans. But the remaining cats from that Clan banded together with the cats who were once called WindClan, and together they became LionClan. Soon the Clan across the thunderpath had to join them, because my Clan forced them out of their home as well._

_Afterwards it seemed as if any three cats with ambition could band together to create their own Clan, and slowly, LionClan began to fall apart because of this. There was DarkClan, WildClan, RageClan, RevengeClan, and other ridiculous Clan names. My Clan changed at around this time from ForestClan to simply 'The Clan,' and we began raiding the moor territories, and the territories of these tiny Clans that rose and fell like ripples in a pool of water. Slowly we began to gain ground on these cats, until we controlled most of the moors, and all of the other cats in the forest feared the Clan._

_And then at that time my father changed._

_My father was the leader of the Clan, the last true leader in the forest to receive nine lives and the name Reedstar from the ancestors he called 'StarClan', and he often said that he would be the last. I always remembered him as a just, fair leader, with a strong mind and strong body, he would lead attacks and patrols himself, and though was merciless in battle, was gentle with cats within the Clan. He would often tell stories of cats from his past that no one remembered, of how they taught him so much, and how they helped him become who he was today. Once, he even mentioned that we were named after them, and that he had decided our warrior names when we were no more than kits. But he refused to tell us until our warrior ceremony._

_We were the last new warriors the Clan would ever know._

_I remember that night like it was only moments before. My father standing high on a rock that served as the meeting point for our Clan. It used to be the center point for another Clan's camp – I can't remember which, and my father had taken the hollow below it as his own. He called the Clan together – there were over forty of us, the largest amount of cats in the Clan that had ever been, and spoke of a dream he had had many years ago, and how he believed it was time for him to share the dream. But before that, he called us forward, and gave us our warrior names._

_I had three siblings, but the one I loved the most was my brother Cedarpaw. Even as kits my father used to talk about how he would put Ashpaw and Firepaw between us, but Cedarpaw would crawl over them until he was nestled up against my side and only then would sleep or nurse. He insisted to our mentors that we trained together, and we become closer to each other than we ever had with Ashpaw or Firepaw. _

_That night he called us by his little nickname for us – his Causes, the reason he fought so hard for his Clan, and then renamed us. My gray-and-white patched sister Ashpaw became Ashfall, my black brother Cedarpaw became Cedarsong. I became Whitebird, and my mute, red-eyed brother with white fur became Firestorm._

_After he had touched each of us on the forehead with his muzzle, and we had moved to join the warriors where they sat, Reedstar told the Clan that we would be the last warriors that would ever be given a warrior name by him. A ripple of shock ran through the Clan, and I looked up at Cedarsong, confused. He didn't understand what our father meant either, and pressed close to me, frightened._

_My father spoke of change, of how the forest needed it more than ever, and how the world would be better once this change had commenced. He spoke of one final battle against an enemy that we could not see, and stated that if the Clan wanted to be happy, and if the world wanted to be fair, we would have to face this foe, no matter who it was. Of course, the cats of the Clan raised their voices in approval. We had run to so many battles and won so many wars, how could this one be any different? We were the Clan, we were the strongest force in the forest, no one could stand before us without falling!_

_And then my father told us who the enemy was, and the world grew silent._

_The enemy was the Clan._

_My father held us, transfixed, as he outlined what was wrong with the Clan, how the Clan could never be perfect, and how this many cats were never supposed to live in the same area at the same time. He told us that he knew many of us wanted to leave the Clan, surprising many cats, and that they were now free to go. Rippletail would no longer be our deputy, my father would no longer be our leader, and Willowshine would no longer be our Medicine Cat, we were free cats, free to leave, free to do whatever we wished._

_Of course there were protests, if we were free to leave, after all, and free to do what we wished, we could stay and keep the Clan together. But my father only shrugged and said that he would not lead them, and that they would have to pick a leader themselves. The cats began to argue, Rippletail claiming he should be leader and many cats agreeing with him, but no cat knew where to go in order to gain the nine lives my father had, and many did not accept Rippletail because of this. My father vanished soon after this, and try as we might to find him, we never could. Reedstar, the last nine-lived leader of the forest, was gone._

_Things fell apart from there. Rippletail was an old warrior at this time, and was soon killed by a young, ambitious warrior named Longfoot. Longfoot styled himself as Longstar, but most of the Clan left, disgusted that he killed Rippletail in order to lead the Clan. Some tried to form their own Clans, much like the remnants of LionClan, but these two fell apart or began to war with each other. Ashfall was one of the first to leave the Clan, ashamed that our father had done this, and Firestorm vanished shortly after with no hint of where he would g. Only Cedarsong and I stayed together, at least until our mother died, and by then Longstar had been killed by his own deputy, Stormheart. _

_Soon after we fled, Stormheart wanting to take me as a mate, and my brother and I escape across the river, where we hid in caves by the gorge. Stormheart searched for us incessantly until his leadership began to crumble as well, and finally gave up. Cedarsong and I lived for a long time in those caves, always cold, always wet, and always confused. It was during this time I almost died from a chest infection, but Cedarsong treated me until I grew better, and hunted for the both of us in the waters by the gorge and the forests on our side of the river. Many cats would come to our cave to rest or hide, some hostile and others friendly, and many searching for suitable mates, but Cedarsong and I always rejected them or made them leave. We wanted no company save our own._

_In the Clan, it was taboo to take your sibling as your mate, and though I loved Cedarsong more than I loved any other cat, I had long been resigned to the fact that we would have to be no more than siblings. But even when I was an apprentice I loved him more than a brother, and decided that if I could not have Cedarsong as a mate, I would have no mate._

_But when we were free of the Clan, we were free to be mates, and when I was healthy again, we became mates. I grew heavy with kits, and Cedarsong doted over me and protected me while I was pregnant. It was during this time I began having dreams of being at the place called Fourtrees, only the oaks were still alive and the rock was not split down the center, and I remember fighting and a cat that almost looked like Cedarsong trying to protect me while I fell asleep. They were strange dreams, yes, and I thought little of them afterwards, my attention focused more on the three kits we had to feed._

_But when my father returned home, things began to change._

_He arrived at our den once while Cedarsong was gone and, despite him being my father, I was terrified of him. He was far more dangerous now, he was in possession of four lives still even though he was old, and there was a dangerous gleam in his eye. When Cedarsong returned that evening with prey, he dropped it and demanded to know why Reedstar was there. And that was when Reedstar told us everything._

_He told us about the time he was an apprentice, how he was the Catalyst who would change the world and how the three Causes – and one other – had died for him. He told us of the warrior Ashfoot and her broken heart, or Firestar and his grief-driven insanity, and he told us about the young couple in a forbidden love, named Whitepaw and Cedarheart._

_We didn't need him to tell us that the same souls of Whitepaw and Cedarheart now lived inside of us, and we didn't need to tell him of the emotions that rushed back, the memories of the battles and of death, of being reborn and finally being able to be together again. They were who we were named after. Because we possessed the same soul. We were here to be given another chance in this free world, and Reedstar wanted us to know that. And then he asked us if we were happy. It only took a moment for Cedarsong and I to answer._

_We had never been more miserable._

_It was nice that we could be mates and have kits of our own, but we missed the feeling of being a Clan, we missed the feeling of being a part of something greater than us, missed working to be the best we could be and serve something to the upmost of our ability. As loners we had to fear every cat who dropped by, and be suspicious to the point of paranoia. Were they really dropping in for a rest? Or were they planning an ambush to take our home? He had to fight for everything we had, without a moment's rest, and our kits could easily get sick and die because we had no Medicine Cat. Ashfall had run away because she was so ashamed of what Reedstar had done, and Firestorm had vanished. We enjoyed each other's company, yes, but we wanted our siblings back, we wanted our family back._

_When we finished, Reedstar said nothing but curled his lip, stood, and left. We thought that was the last of him, but we were horribly wrong._

_Half a moon later, Firestorm returned to us, somehow finding us. He had gone blind in one eye, but could not tell us what had happened, being mute. We treated him as best we could, and he helped train our kits to hunt and fight, and about that time Ashfall returned to us as well. We were together again, and we all raised my kits as a family. It was another two moons before my kits were decided to be strong enough to play without us supervising, and about that time I became pregnant again._

_And that was when the storm struck._

_It was a storm like no other, lightning seemed to fall more often than rain, the thunder never ceased and the rain was relentless. My small family was trapped inside of our cave, hungry and cold for what would become almost a full turn of the moon. Cedarsong and Firestorm hunted for Ashfall and I during palls, but what they brought back was never enough, and they never spoke of what the saw outside._

_When the storm finally broke after nearly thirty days of constant rain, I ventured out and climbed the cliffs of the gorge, and felt the world shake when I saw what had befallen the forest, what Reedstar had done to the forest. I don't know how I knew that he did it, but I did._

_The river had flooded the entire forest, the rain and wind had beaten down the trees. Lightning had struck so much of the forest that I could see it was patched like a mangy pelt. The ground had cracked, redirecting the river deeper into ThunderClan territory and splitting the territory in half. Much of the moors had collapsed into the gorge and blocked it, creating a dam and waterfall, and the swampy lands in ShadowClan were now a marsh. But the massive change of the land wasn't the worst part of this change. The worst part was what happened to the cats._

_My father had changed every cat in the forest. Instead of kind travelers stopping by for a rest, all my family could expect now were vicious rogues trying to kill us. We heard them fighting often, over nothing, over prey, over the right to mate. He had changed them into beasts with bestial minds and set them free to roam the earth just to spite us. We had not liked his change, so he gave us one that was even worse._

_Ashfall was killed by a rogue not a moon after the ground split and the storm ended, and Firestorm was badly wounded soon after that, and never fully recovered. Our cave became a place too easy to find, and we had to move deeper into the gorge in order to hide from raiding cats. My kits were no longer safe outside, and weren't allowed to play. Reedstar had taken back his gift at a second life, and given us back hell._

_Now I am old, ancient even in the eyes of the young cats. I have seen my own kits leave and take mates and have seen their kits take mates and their kits, and I have seen many of them die. Cedarsong left me long ago, and Firestorm vanished again without a word. The cats of the forest are rogues now, not a single warrior if left among them, not a _true_ warrior at least. I have hope for one cat whose blood remains pure, but I see no chance for him to rebuild the Clans, they are long dead, and even I can hardly remember all of them. My sight is failing me, and I can hear in the distance the voice of Cedarsgon, telling me that it is time to leave this wretched place. But at the same time, I can hear something else._

_A song._

_The song is without words, without tune or melody. But it is a song nonetheless, and it brings tears to my darkening eyes. There is hope, our ancestors have not betrayed us, we can rebuild the Clans. We _will_ rebuild the Clans. I see the future just as Cedarsong has come for me, and is telling me it is time to leave now, and my breath is caught in my throat._

_The future has red eyes._

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><p><strong>Dunnno where that last sentence came from. I mean, "The future has red eyes"? I'm going to have to do some brainstorming to figure out what the hell I meant by that. Didn't plan it. Didn't plan any of this chapter, actually.<strong>

**So, what is there left to talk about? Graystripe became Graystar, and I had him choose Dustpelt as his deputy because, well, I thought he would choose Dustpelt. But Dustpelt isn't one who deserves to be deputy, leading to... ta-da! Brackenfur! Brackenfur should have been made deputy instead of Brambleclaw, I will _always_ hold that over this stupid series. Brackenfur should have been made deputy, fuckers! He should have!**

**I'll spare you my rant and keep on going on. But what else is there left to say? A sequel is being tossed around, but it won't be out for a while, and I need to buckle down and push out a few more chapters, because soon I'll be heading off to college and, before that, I'm going to be on a road trip for three days. I'll finish the chapters early and upload them one at a time, but it might be a little difficult, we'll just have to see. **

**The next story I am working on is And Who They Would Become, as I mentioned before, which features Brackenfur and Cinderpelt because FUCK YOU Erins, I LOVE Brackenfur. I'll try and get at least three chapters of that before I leave, and then have two more in store. It's going to be longer than this story, but how much longer I'm not sure. Reeeeealllly need to figure these things out.**

**And lastly, thank you to all of my readers and reviewers for getting through this first story with me. I plan on having a lot more in the future, so don't forget to kick my ass if I'm being lazy!**


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